Recently, in the search for new more efficient supercapacitor electrodes, many researchers have increasingly turned their attention to metal sulfides, which often show improved functional characteristics compared to the corresponding oxides. For example, when replacing oxygen in such a highly popular and demanded oxide as NiCo
2O
4 with sulfur, the resulting sulfide of NiCo
2S
4 composition demonstrates even more outstanding properties
[107]. In particular, in this case, there is an increase in the length of chemical bonds leading to easier electron transport, which may contribute to improved electrochemical performance. As a result, two orders of magnitude increase in electrical conductivity is observed for NiCo
2S
4 sulfide compared to NiCo
2O
4 oxide, and higher electrochemical activity and specific capacitance are observed. Due to the mentioned features of nickel–cobalt sulfide, this material is one of the most demanded sulfides as a component of supercapacitor electrodes
[108][109]. In addition, researchers are also interested in a sulfide with the opposite ratio of metals of the composition CoNi
2S
4, which also shows high electrochemical properties as an electrode of supercapacitors
[110][111]. One of the most popular pseudocapacitance sulfide materials in this context is also MoS
2, which is characterized by a graphene-like two-dimensional layered structure and sandwich-structured S-Mo-S atoms held together by weak van der Waals forces
[112]. Due to the peculiarities of the structure, materials based on molybdenum disulfide can reach high values of a specific surface area, which promotes charge storage of EDLCs and also provides the possibility of Faraday redox reactions on molybdenum atoms with different oxidation degree (from +2 to +6). Thus, semiconducting molybdenum disulfide can be considered as one of the most promising materials for supercapacitor electrodes, which has a high theoretical specific capacitance (1000 F/g).
It should be noted that there are also works devoted to studying the properties of CuCo
2S
4 sulfide as a new electrode material for supercapacitors. Thus, replacement of nickel in the previously mentioned NiCo
2S
4 sulfide with more common copper can contribute to the reduction of material cost while maintaining competitive electrochemical characteristics
[113]. Authors of
[114] used this sulfide as a component of supercapacitor electrodes in their fabrication by 3D printing. The synthesis of the material in this case was carried out by hydrothermal process in the presence of reduced graphene oxide using copper and cobalt chlorides and thiourea. Heat treatment of the reaction system was carried out in an autoclave at 200 °C for 12 h. 3D printing of the supercapacitor electrode in this case was carried out with gel freezing, which, according to the authors, contributed not only to the formation of porous material, but also to the suppression of agglomeration of solid phase particles to improve charge transport. Electrochemical measurements allowed for establishing that the printed electrode has a high specific capacity (C
sp = 1123 F/g), and after 20,000 charge-discharge cycles at high current density (125 A/g), the value of this parameter remained at the level of 91.2%. It was also shown that the investigated electrode has low internal resistance, low ion exchange resistance, and high electric double layer capacitance.
Significant attention in the manufacture of supercapacitor electrodes is also paid to the sulfide MnCo
2S
4. In particular, the authors of
[115] studied the process of forming the corresponding electrodes using 3D printing. The synthesis of manganese–cobalt sulfide was carried out by a thermal decomposition method with 1-dodecanethiol, which plays the role of both sulfur source and surfactant. For this purpose, manganese and cobalt chlorides in the required ratios were placed in a three-neck flask containing 1-octadecene and vacuumized at room temperature for 30 min. Then, the reaction system was heated to 140 °C, dodecanethiol was quickly introduced, and the temperature was raised to 290 °C and kept for 1 h, with system being stirred. According to the electrochemical measurements of the obtained electrode, the specific capacitance values were 3812.5 F/g (at 2 A/g) and 1780.8 F/g (at 50 A/g). The results of the electrode cyclic stability study showed a capacity retention of 92% after 22,000 charge–discharge cycles (at 50 A/g).
2.6. MXenes
It is well known that MXenes are a rather new and extensive class of 2D nanomaterials with the general formula M
n+1X
nT
x, where M is the transition metal (most commonly, Ti, V, Nb, Mo, Cr, etc.), X is C or N, and T is the surface functional groups, most commonly F, OH, Cl
[116][117]. Due to their layered structure, high electrical conductivity, and huge variation in composition (which allows its optimization for a specific task), MXenes are recognized as very promising component base for various modern devices, e.g., in sensorics
[118][119][120][121][122], catalysis
[123][124], industrial water purification
[125][126], and the creation of electrodes that often retain high energy density at high current densities
[127]. However, they are of the greatest interest as components of energy generation and storage devices—lithium/sodium-ion batteries and supercapacitors
[128][129][130][131][132]—especially owing to the possibility of intercalation of various ions into the interlayer space and high hydrophilicity of surface groups. An attractive aspect for the development of portable and implantable devices (similar to e-textile or electronic-tattoo) based on MXene is their antibacterial activity and mechanical elasticity of the layers, as established in several studies
[133][134]. The development of printing technologies has most significantly affected the issue of MXene-based supercapacitor and micro-supercapacitor electrodes
[27][135][136][137].
Many scientific publications indicate that the history of MXene preparation (etching technique of initial MAX phases, reagents used, temperature, duration, delamination conditions) is crucial for the observed electrochemical characteristics as it significantly affects the composition of surface functional groups, the size and shape of formed 2D-particles, the interaction between individual MXene flakes, the interlayer distance, and the possibility of ionic and molecular intercalation. The number of layers in the MXene aggregates formed after etching and delamination can affect not only the electrochemical behavior of the applied coatings, but also the viscosity of the initial ink
[138] (which is due to the significantly higher ζ-potential and strong long-range interactions for monolayer MXene compared to multilayer ones). As a result, this parameter can also determine the additive technology used to form the electrode layers: 2D printing (inkjet, extrusion, etc.) or 3D printing/screen printing.
Analyzing the features of MXene-based functional inks, it should be noted that usually, in addition to the electrochemically active component (in this case, MXene), they contain other components that provide the necessary viscosity, binding of particles to each other in the final coating, or surface-active components (to improve wetting of the so-called “pigment” by the dispersion medium). These additives significantly worsen the electrophysical properties, reduce the active surface area and complicate the fabrication process, and their removal most often requires high-temperature treatment (preferably pulsed and localized to prevent degradation of the main components). Due to the high chemical activity of MXenes, great attention is paid to minimizing the content of such additives.
Switching to non-aqueous solvents (most often polar solvents such as DMSO, N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, ethanol, etc.) also allows us to increase the utilization time of dispersions compared to aqueous solvents. Notably, for dispersions in the above solvents, it was found in a study
[139] that their viscosity is generally lower than when water is used as the dispersion medium; however, it may also be due to the higher concentration of MXene that is achievable in the aqueous medium.
A more complex composition modifying MXene Ti
3C
2T
x is described in the study by Wang et al.
[140]: the used sodium alginate in addition to protecting against oxidation serves to build three-dimensional framework structures (and levels the problem of aggregation of low-layer MXenes) and the introduction of Fe
2+ salt structures of the pore space. With improved dispersion stability, it is characterized by a viscosity suitable for inkjet printing (1619.9 mPa/s). The micro-supercapacitor printed by this method on paper substrate with electrode spacing of 310 μm has a large number of active sites for ion storage and a network with high conductivity for electron transfer, resulting in good performance (capacitance 123. 8 mF/cm
2 at 5 mV/s, energy density 8.44 μW·h/cm
2 with a power density of 33.70 μW/cm
2) with 91.4% capacitance retention after 10,000 cycles and 90% capacitance retention after 10,000 bending cycles.
Doping MXene with nitrogen and sulfur atoms is also considered promising for improving its environmental stability
[141] and also helps to improve its electrochemical properties. Thus, using Ti
3C
2T
x, modified with sulfur and nitrogen, planar micro-supercapacitors with electrode spacing of 300 μm were formed with the direct inkjet printing method created by Sun et al., for which a high bulk capacitance of 710 F/cm
3 and an energy density of 8.9 mW·h/cm
3 at a power density of 411 mW/cm
3 was observed. Long-term cyclic stability was also recorded for it (up to 94.6% after 10,000 cycles).
Interesting from the economic and technological points of view is the approach of the authors of the article
[142], who proposed to use not monolayer MXene obtained by delamination in DMSO and ultrasonic action and transferred by centrifugation (3500 rpm, 1 h) to the supernatant, but a precipitate containing more multilayer MXene and residues of the MAX-phase Ti
3AlC
2 for the fabrication of functional Ti
3C
2T
x inks. This concentrated dispersed system with a solid phase content of 72.4 wt.% has the required rheological characteristics (viscosity 468 Pa/s at a shear rate of 10
−1 s
−1) and exhibits the properties of a non-Newtonian fluid, which is required for extrusion printing.
2.7. Composites
As follows from the previous sections, in most cases, supercapacitor electrodes are formed by combining materials of different types, and the composites created in this way unite the properties of the corresponding components, which makes it possible to achieve optimal mechanical and electrochemical characteristics. Thus, there is a large number of works that consider approaches to obtaining composite electrodes based on all the materials (carbon structures, polymers, oxides, hydroxides and metal sulfides, and MXenes). In the fabrication of micro-supercapacitor electrodes using printing technologies, composites based on various polymers and carbon nanostructures, in particular fullerenes, are studied
[143]. Thus, with the combination of polyaniline and fullerenes, the composite electrode is characterized by the specific capacitance value of 2201 F/g at a current density of 2 A/g (rate capability of about 73% at 10 A/g)
[90]. As noted above, a good result in the context of electrochemical characteristics can be achieved using composites based on MXenes (including Ti
3C
2T
x composition) and layered double hydroxides (in particular, CoAl-LDH): high energy density (8.84 μW·h/cm
2), flexibility, and cycling stability (capacitance remains at the level of 92% after 10,000 cycles).
The obtained material demonstrated improved electrochemical characteristics (good mechanical strength, specific capacitance of 103 mF/cm
2, promising areal energy density of 14.3 μW·h/cm
2, and capacitance retention at the level of 94% after 8000 charge-discharge cycles). In
[144], the results of successful combination of MoS
2 and PEDOT:PSS in the electrode composition of a flexible supercapacitor are presented. In this case, due to the addition of the above polymer to the material composition, its electrostatic interaction with molybdenum disulfide particles occurred, leading to the formation of a hybrid hydrogel, which can be used as a functional ink in extrusion 3D printing of flexible supercapacitors, including miniature ones. The electrodes thus fabricated showed good mechanical and electrochemical performance in the environment of various electrolytes. As a result, it was found that composite materials are probably the most common and promising as electrodes for micro-supercapacitors formed using classical methods and different types of printing technologies.
3. Conclusions
Supercapacitors, as energy storage devices, will undoubtedly play an important role in the sustainable development of modern energy. Technologies for their creation are being improved for many years already; serious efforts are made to develop functional components of supercapacitors with improved electrochemical characteristics, the search for optimal methods of their automated manufacturing is underway, and more and more effective approaches to miniaturization and planarization of these devices are offered.
Thus, in the case of carbon materials, it is necessary to note insufficiently high values of specific capacitance. Although there are attempts to improve this parameter by increasing the specific surface area and adjusting the pore structure, these measures have had limited effect. Significant improvements in the capacitive performance of carbon materials can be achieved when they are combined with pseudo-capacitive materials. However, the power density and cyclic stability of the final materials may suffer in this case. Polymer electrode materials in turn can also suffer from low cyclic stability, mechanical strength, and insufficiently high conductivity. The latter parameter also requires correction for transition metal oxides and hydroxides. When working with metal sulfides, attempts should be made to increase their interlayer space to facilitate charge transfer. In addition, in aqueous electrolyte environments, this type of material cannot function in a wide potential window, whereas degradation is observed in ionic liquids. MXenes, which represent a new class of layered materials, despite their extremely attractive electrochemical properties, require the use of rather complex synthetic approaches, and improvements in oxidative stability during long-term storage as well as operation in aqueous electrolytes are need to be made.