Nanostructured metal chalcogenide/oxide films based supercapacitors

Solar power, wind power, hydroelectricity, and biomass, have made remarkable improvements in securing the energy future of mankind. However, these sources will need a facility to store energy. Presently, the electrochemical capacitors, also called supercapacitors or ultracapacitor store energy in two closely spaced layers with opposing charges. Such supercapacitor finds applications in memory devices, consumer electronics and military equipment to power up electrical vehicles, and memory backups. Electrochemical supercapacitors bridge the gap between batteries that offer a high energy density but low power density and conventional capacitors that offer higher power density but low energy density. The performance of supercapacitor is significantly affected by the factors, such as structural and electrochemical properties of the electrode materials, the electrolyte, and the potential window of the electrodes. Enormous research efforts have taken place for the development of materials for supercapacitor electrodes with appropriate structural designs to facilitate effective electron transport and ionic diffusion. The present article deals with the basics of the supercapacitor, its working principle, types of supercapacitors, the various methods of electrode preparation and their characterization and necessary background for characterization of supercapacitor. It also discusses some of the recently developed promising nanostructured electrodes materials based on rare earth chalcogenides/oxides and transition oxides and chalcogenides.