Carbon-Based Pseudocapacitive Materials for Next Generation Batteries

Sodium and potassium-ion batteries have been hampered by their low rates and capacities, making them less desirable as electrical energy storage devices at low prices. Lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) are the preferred electrochemical energy storage technology for portable devices, electric vehicles, and grid storage. Despite this, LIBs are not being developed further due to their lack of fast charging technology, low energy density, and safety concerns. Utilizing carbon substrates as composite electrodes is one of the most widely used strategies for improving their electrochemical performance. Metal oxides and metal sulfide materials also possess a low working potential and the highest practical reversible capacity compared with commercialized graphite. Thus, combining a carbon-based material with a metal oxide/sulfide-based material will result in excellent electrical conductivity and reactivity, high theoretical capacity, flexibility, and remarkable tensile strength. In this chapter, carbon materials with metal oxides/sulfides are discussed in detail based on their structure–property interactions and the different electrochemical mechanisms driving their behavior to discuss the possibilities and challenges of post-battery technologies.