Development of 3D-Printed MWCNTs/AC/BNNTs Ternary Composite Electrode Material with High-Capacitance Performance

• Main Authors: Asrar Alam, Ghuzanfar Saeed, Seong Min Hong, Sooman Lim
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-03-01
• Series: Applied Sciences
• Subjects: 3D pneumatic printing; direct ink writing (DIW); boron nitride nanotube; activated carbon; multiwalled carbon nanotube; aqueous electrolyte
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/6/2636

Activated carbon (AC) and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) have been extensively investigated in recent decades as electrical double-layer capacitor (EDLC) electrode materials for supercapacitors, owing to their superior capacitive properties and cycling stability performance. However, in the modern electronics industry, ternary electrode materials have been designed to develop high-performance and efficient energy storage devices. EDLC-based ternary materials are of great importance, where all the present components participate both individually and as a multicomponent electrode system to promote high-electrochemical performance electrode materials. In this study, we have incorporated an optimized content of boron nitride nanotube (BNNT) powder into a binary material composed of AC and MWCNTs to enhance their electrochemical performance using a pneumatic printer. The printed MWCNTs/AC/BNNTs ternary composite electrode material has shown a maximum specific capacitance of 262 F g⁻¹ at a minimum current density of 1 A g⁻¹, with a capacitance retention of 49.61% at a maximum current density of 10 A g⁻¹. These results demonstrate that the printable MWCNTs/AC/BNNTs ternary composite electrode material is a potential candidate for the development of high-performance supercapacitors.