Current innovations and future prospects of metal oxide electrospun materials for supercapacitor technology: A review

Abstract

Metal oxides with one-dimensional (1-D) nanostructures have shown promise as electrode materials for supercapacitors due to their unique properties, such as high aspect ratio, increased interaction between electrode and electrolyte, favourable mechanical strength, and short ion transportation pathways that improve the charge-discharge rates of electrons and ions. Electrospinning is an effective technique for creating 1-D metal oxide nanostructures that produce highly porous nanofibrous structures with exceptional specific surface areas, predictable pore size distributions, and tunable interconnected porosity. This paper provides a comprehensive review of the literature on electrospun metal oxide nanostructures for supercapacitors, including the principles and key parameters of electrospinning, an overview of supercapacitors, the charge storage mechanism of electrospun metal oxides, and recent developments in 1-D electrospun nanostructures, from binary to ternary metal oxides. The review also discusses unresolved issues and future directions in this research field. Overall, this paper offers valuable insights into the latest developments, unresolved issues, and prospects of 1-D nanostructured metal oxides fabricated through electrospinning for supercapacitor applications, providing a critical analysis of their potential in this rapidly evolving field. & COPY; 2023 Published by Elsevier Ltd on behalf of The editorial office of Journal of Materials Science & Technology.