Electron storage performance of hybrid materials comprising polyoxometalates and carbon nanohorns as cathode-active materials

Wakamatsu, Katsuhiro*; Sekihara, Akihori*; Yamaguchi, Yoshihiko*; Matsushima, Ryo*; Matsumura, Daiju   ; Kuila, T.*; Yoshikawa, Hirofumi*

Nanohybrid materials comprising polyoxometalates (POMs) and nanocarbons have attracted considerable attention as electrode-active materials for rechargeable lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). These materials exhibit multi-electron redox reactions, resulting in an improved battery capacity. This study focuses on carbon nanohorns (CNHs) as a nanocarbon material and evaluates the battery performance using POM/CNH hybrids as cathode-active materials. X-ray absorption fine structural analysis was performed to investigate the reaction mechanism of these hybrids. POM/oxidized CNH (CNHox) hybrid materials maintain high capacities at high current densities as the high surface area availability of CNHox leads to high electrical double-layer capacitances. These findings show an improved performance of the as-developed material when compared with those reported in previous papers and can contribute toward an improved design of cathode-active materials for high-performance supercapacitors.