Wafer-scale quasi-layered tungstate-doped polypyrrole film with high volumetric capacitance

Layered materials are particularly attractive for supercapacitors because of their unique physical,electrical and chemical properties.Here,we demonstrate a facile and scalable electrochemical deposition method for wafer-scale synthesis of quasilayered tungstate-doped polypyrrole films(named TALPy)with controllable thickness and size.The as-prepared TALPy film exhibits a high gravimetric density and excellent volumetric capacitance,exceeding many high-performing carbon-and polymerbased film electrodes.Based on combined results of ex-situ X-ray diffraction(XRD),Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS),it is determined that TALPy stores charge through an ion intercalation process accompanied by change in oxidation states of polypyrrole backbone,which is referred as intercalation pseudocapacitance.All these results suggest the great promise of electrochemical deposition as a scalable and controllable bottom-up approach for synthesizing quasi-layered conductive organic-inorganic hybrid films for electrochemical energy storage applications with high volumetric performance.

Calibrating SECCM measurements by means of a nanoelectrode ruler.The intrinsic oxygen reduction activity of PtNi catalyst nanoparticles

Scanning electrochemical cell microscopy(SECCM)is increasingly applied to determine the intrinsic catalytic activity of single electrocatalyst particle.This is especially feasible if the catalyst nanoparticles are large enough that they can be found and counted in post-SECCM scanning electron microscopy images.Evidently,this becomes impossible for very small nanoparticles and hence,a catalytic current measured in one landing zone of the SECCM droplet cannot be correlated to the exact number of catalyst particles.We show,that by introducing a ruler method employing a carbon nanoelectrode decorated with a countable number of the same catalyst particles from which the catalytic activity can be determined,the activity determined using SECCM from many spots can be converted in the intrinsic catalytic activity of a certain number of catalyst nanoparticles.