Hybrid supercapacitors that follow a "rocking-chair"-type mechanism were developed by coupling divalent metal and activated carbon electrodes in nonaqueous electrolytes. Conventional supercapacitors require a large amount of electrolyte to provide a sufficient quantity of ions to the electrodes, due to their Daniell-type mechanism that depletes the ions from the electrolyte while charging. The alternative "rocking-chair"-type mechanism effectively enhances the energy density of supercapacitors by minimizing the necessary amount of electrolyte, because the ion is replenished from the metal anode while it is adsorbed to the cathode. Newly developed nonaqueous electrolytes for Mg and Zn electrochemistry, based on bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (TFSI) salts, made the metal hybrid supercapacitors possible by enabling reversible deposition on the metal anodes and reversible adsorption on an activated carbon cathode. Factoring in gains through the cell design, the energy density of the metal hybrid supercapacitors is projected to be a factor of 7 higher than conventional devices thanks to both the "rocking-chair"-type mechanism that minimizes total electrolyte volume and the use of metal anodes, which have substantial merits in capacity and voltage. Self-discharge was also substantially alleviated compared to conventional supercapacitors. This concept offers a route to build supercapacitors that meet dual criteria of power and energy densities with a simple cell design.

Reversible intercalation reactions provide the basis for modern battery electrodes. Despite decades of exploration of electrode materials, the potential for materials in the nonoxide chemical space with regards to intercalation chemistry is vast and rather untested. Transition metal fluorides stand out as an obvious target. To this end, we report herein a new family of iron fluoride-based perovskite cathode materials AxK1-xFeF3 (A = Li, Na). By starting with KFeF3, approximately 75% of K+ ions were subsequently replaced by Li+ and Na+ through electrochemical means. X-ray diffraction and Fe X-ray absorption spectroscopy confirmed the existence of intercalation of alkali metal ions in the perovskite structure, which is associated with the Fe2+/3+ redox couple. A computational study by density functional theory showed agreement with the structural and electrochemical data obtained experimentally, which suggested the possibility of fluoride-based materials as potential intercalation electrodes. This study increases our understanding of the intercalation chemistry of ternary fluorides, which could inform efforts toward the exploration of new electrode materials.

Mg batteries utilizing oxide cathodes can theoretically surpass the energy density of current Li-ion technologies. The absence of functional devices so far has been ascribed to impeded Mg2+ migration within oxides, which severely handicaps intercalation reactions at the cathode. Broadly, knowledge of divalent cation migration in solid frameworks is surprisingly deficient. Here, we present a combined experimental and theoretical study of Mg migration within three spinel oxides, which reveal critical features that influence it. Experimental activation energies for a Mg2+ hop to an adjacent vacancy, as low as ∼0.6 eV, are reported. These barriers are low enough to support functional electrodes based on the intercalation of Mg2+. Subsequent electrochemical experiments demonstrate that significant demagnesiation is indeed possible, but the challenges instead lie with the chemical stability of the oxidized states. Our findings enhance the understanding of cation transport in solid structures and renew the prospects of finding materials capable of high density of energy storage.