Nanostructured all-solid-state supercapacitor based on Li2S-P2S5 glass-ceramic electrolyte

While today's lithium-ion batteries offer acceptable energy storage capability, they lack the ability to be cycled repeatedly more than a couple thousand times. Electrochemical capacitors, i.e., supercapacitors, are being developed whose lifetimes exceed 1 × 106 cycles and power densities surpass those of batteries by several times. Here, we present an all-solid-state supercapacitor using a Li2S-P2S5 glass-ceramic electrolyte as both separator and ion conductor. Three device architectures are examined including two with nanostructured electrodes which incorporate multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs). Cyclic voltammograms and electrochemical impedance measurements demonstrate that these devices develop reversible double layer capacitance, and a maximum of 7.75 F/g is achieved in the device constructed by mechanically mixing the nanostructured electrodes. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy explains non-idealities observed when MWCNTs are incorporated in the electrode layers.