Ultrafine MoP Nanoparticle Splotched Nitrogen‐Doped Carbon Nanosheets Enabling High‐Performance 3D‐Printed Potassium‐Ion Hybrid Capacitors

Abstract

Size engineering is deemed to be an adoptable method to boost the electrochemical properties of potassium‐ion storage; however, it remains a critical challenge to significantly reduce the nanoparticle size without compromising the uniformity. In this work, a series of MoP nanoparticle splotched nitrogen‐doped carbon nanosheets (MoP@NC) is synthesized. Due to the coordinate and hydrogen bonds in the water‐soluble polyacrylamide hydrogel, MoP is uniformly confined in a 3D porous NC to form ultrafine nanoparticles which facilitate the extreme exposure of abundant three‐phase boundaries (MoP, NC, and electrolyte) for ionic binding and storage. Consequently, MoP@NC‐1 delivers an excellent capacity performance (256.1 mAh g ⁻¹ at 0.1 A g ⁻¹) and long‐term cycling durability (89.9% capacitance retention after 800 cycles). It is further confirmed via density functional theory calculations that the smaller the MoP nanoparticle, the larger the three‐phase boundary achieved for favoring competitive binding energy toward potassium ions. Finally, MoP@NC‐1 is applied as highly electroactive additive for 3D printing ink to fabricate 3D‐printed potassium‐ion hybrid capacitors, which delivers high gravimetric energy/power density of 69.7 Wh kg ⁻¹/2041.6 W kg ⁻¹, as well as favorable areal energy/power density of 0.34 mWh cm ⁻²/9.97 mW cm ⁻².

Abstract

Due to the usage of water‐soluble polyacrylamide as molecular skeleton and the strong chemical bond connection inside the hydrogel network, ultrafine MoP nanoparticles can be formed and evenly confined in 3D porous nitrogen‐doped carbon (NC) framework. This can create abundant three‐phase boundaries for efficient response between MoP, NC, and electrolyte, endowing high energy/power 3D‐printed potassium‐ion hybrid capacitors.