Dual-ion hybrid supercapacitor: Integration of Li-ion hybrid supercapacitor and dual-ion battery realized by porous graphitic carbon

Lithium-ion hybrid supercapacitors (Li-HSCs) and dual-ion batteries (DIBs) are two types of energy storage devices that have attracted extensive research interest in recent years. Li-HSCs and DIBs have similarities in device structure, tendency for ion migration, and energy storage mechanisms at the negative electrode. However, these devices have differences in energy storage mechanisms and working potentials at the positive electrode. Here, we first realize the integration of a Li-HSC and a DIB to form a dual-ion hybrid supercapacitor (DIHSC), by employing mesocarbon microbead (MCMB)-based porous graphitic carbon (PGC) with a partially graphitized structure and porous structure as a positive electrode material. The MCMB-PGC-based DIHSC exhibits a novel dual-ion battery-capacitor hybrid mechanism: it exhibits excellent electronic double-layer capacitor (EDLC) behavior like a Li-HSC in the low-middle wide potential range and anion intercalation/de-intercalation behavior like a DIB in the high-potential range. Two types of mechanisms are observed in the electrochemical characterization process, and the energy density of the new DIHSC is significantly increased.