Nanostructured Electrodes for High-Performance Pseudocapacitors

The depletion of traditional energy resources as well as the desire to reduce high CO2 emissions associated with energy production means that energy storage is now becoming more important than ever. New functional electrode materials are urgently needed for next‐generation energy storage systems, such as supercapacitors or batteries, to meet the ever increasing demand for higher energy and power densities. Advances in nanotechnology are essential to meet those future challenges. It is critical to develop ways of synthesizing new nanomaterials with enhanced properties or combinations of properties to meet future challenges. In this Minireview we discuss several important recent studies in developing nanostructured pseudocapacitor electrodes, and summarize three major parameters that are the most important in determining the performance of electrode materials. A technique to optimize these parameters simultaneously and to achieve both high energy and power densities is also introduced. Three key parameters determine the performance of nanostructured electrodes for pseudocapacitor applications: pore structure, conductivity, and crystallinity. These parameters determine the utilization of electrode materials, especially at high power densities. Future progress can be seen in developing techniques that can simultaneously tailor those parameters and also be able to facilitate electrode production at large scales.