Carbon materials for high-performance lithium-ion capacitor

As new-generation electrochemical energy-storage systems, lithium-ion capacitors (LICs) have combined the advantages of both lithium-ion batteries and supercapacitors, manifesting the merits of high-energy density under power density. Triggered by outstanding physicochemical characteristics and two different charge-storage mechanisms (including the Li+ insertion and electric double-layer capacitor characteristics), carbon materials have been intensively studied for fabricating high-performance LICs. However, the construction of high-performance LICs have been greatly limited by the unbalanced capacity and kinetic imbalance between the sluggish ion diffusion process of anode and fast electrostatic accumulation behavior of cathode. Thus, aimed at improving two different electrochemical storage performances, rational design of carbon materials has been summarized in this short review, which provide the directional guidance for engineering optimized carbon electrodes and become a breakthrough for improving energy/power densities of LICs. Furthermore, the prospects and unresolved scientific issues of LICs are also proposed.