Lithium Storage in Carbon Cloth–Supported KNb<sub>3</sub>O<sub>8</sub> Nanorods Toward a High‐Performance Lithium‐Ion Capacitor
Hui Sun, Fei Niu, Peng Yuan, Xuexia He, Jie Sun, Zong‐Huai Liu, Qi Li, Zhibin Lei
Abstract
Exploration of novel anodes with a high capacity and fast charge rate is crucial for developing high‐energy‐density lithium‐ion capacitors. Herein, high‐rate Li + insertion into KNb 3 O 8 nanorods grown on conductive carbon cloth (CC) by a facile electrodeposition technique is reported. The hierarchically porous network and the enhanced conductivity enable the CC‐KNb 3 O 8 electrode to deliver a high discharge capacity of 271 mA h g −1 at 0.01 A g −1 with a low yet safe voltage (1.2 V versus Li/Li + ) while exhibiting outstanding cycling stability (225 mA h g −1 after 100 cycles) and superior rate capability (159 mA h g −1 at 0.5 A g −1 ). Electrochemical results and X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis show that accompanying mutielectron transfers involving the Nb 5+ /Nb 4+ and Nb 4+ /Nb 3+ redox reactions, KNb 3 O 8 remains in the stable orthorhombic phase without notable volume expansion during the whole charging and discharging process. A lithium‐ion capacitor built with a CC‐KNb 3 O 8 anode and active carbon cathode delivers a maximum energy density of 69 W h kg −1 at a power output of 346 W kg −1 and retains 88% capacity after 1000 cycles at 2.0 A g −1 . This work opens up a new avenue for designing high‐capacity niobium‐based electrodes toward a high‐performance charge storage device.