Nanostructured Transition Metal Oxides on Carbon Fibers for Supercapacitor and Li-Ion Battery Electrodes: An Overview

Nowadays, owing to the new technological and industrial requirements for equipment, such as flexibility or multifunctionally, the development of all-solid-state supercapacitors and Li-ion batteries has become a goal for researchers. For these purposes, the composite material approach has been widely proposed due to the promising features of woven carbon fiber as a substrate material for this type of material. Carbon fiber displays excellent mechanical properties, flexibility, and high electrical conductivity, allowing it to act as a substrate and a collector at the same time. However, carbon fiber’s energy-storage capability is limited. Several coatings have been proposed for this, with nanostructured transition metal oxides being one of the most popular due to their high theoretical capacity and surface area. In this overview, the main techniques used to achieve these coatings—such as solvothermal synthesis, MOF-derived obtention, and electrochemical deposition—are summarized, as well as the main strategies for alleviating the low electrical conductivity of transition metal oxides, which is the main drawback of these materials.