Porous Fe(2)O(3) Nanorods on Hierarchical Porous Biomass Carbon as Advanced Anode for High-Energy-Density Asymmetric Supercapacitors

In this study, a novel negative electrode material was prepared by aligning α-Fe(2)O(3) nanorods on a hierarchical porous carbon (HPC) skeleton. The skeleton was derived from wheat flour by a facile hydrothermal route to enhance conductivity, improve surface properties, and achieve substantially good electrochemical performances. The α-Fe(2)O(3)/HPC electrode exhibits enhanced specific capacitance of 706 F g(−1), which is twice higher than that of α-Fe(2)O(3). The advanced α-Fe(2)O(3)/HPC//PANI/HPC asymmetrical supercapacitor was built with an expanded voltage of 2.0 V in 1 M Li(2)SO(4), possessing a specific capacitance of 212 F g(−1) at 1 A g(−1) and a maximum energy density of 117 Wh kg(−1) at 1.0 kW kg(−1), along with an excellent stability of 5.8% decay in capacitance after 5,000 cycles. This study affords a simple process to develop asymmetric supercapacitors, which exhibit high electrochemical performances and are applicable in next-generation energy storage devices, based on α-Fe(2)O(3) hybrid materials.