Dual‐ion intercalation and high volumetric capacitance in a two‐dimensional non‐porous coordination polymer

Abstract

Intercalation is a promising ion-sorption mechanism for enhancing the energy density of electrochemical capacitors (ECs) because it offers enhanced access to the electrochemical surface area. It requires a rapid transport of ions in and out of a host material, and it must occur without phase transformations. Materials that fulfil these requirements are rare; those that do intercalate almost exclusively cations. Herein, we show that Ni3 (benzenehexathiol) (Ni3 BHT), a non-porous two-dimensional (2D) layered coordination polymer (CP), intercalates both cations and anions with a variety of charges. Whereas cation intercalation is pseudocapacitive, anions intercalate in a purely capacitive fashion. The excellent EC performance of Ni3 BHT provides a general basis for investigating similar dual-ion intercalation mechanisms in the large family of non-porous 2D CPs.