Optimizing the electrochemical performance of titanium surface modified nitride films for hybrid supercapacitors

The hybrid supercapacitor (HSC), incorporating both capacitive and battery traits, stands out for its remarkable energy capacity and power capabilities, gaining widespread acknowledgment as a prominent energy storage solution. Our study focuses on the electrochemical evaluation of magnetron-sputtered Ti/TiN thin film, to explore the impact of varying top layer thickness while maintaining a consistent interfacial layer of Ti. By employing half-cell assembly, we conduct comprehensive electrochemical analyses of samples with varying thickness of TiN. Among them, (Ti/TiN):(50/300 nm) electrode demonstrates optimal performance, boasting a specific capacity (Qs) of 576C/g (823.4 F/g) at a scan rate of 3 mV/s, and 296C/g (423 F/g) at current density of 1 A/g. The (Ti/TiN):(50/300 nm) electrode is then configured in full cell assembly and hence attained Qs of 273C/g (391 F/g) along with the energy density (Es) of 64 Wh/Kg and power density (Ps) of 9350 W/kg. Additionally, a semi-empirical approach i.e., linear, and quadratic model results are analyzed and compared to evaluate the capacitive and diffusive contributions. From all the attained captivating results the (Ti/TiN):(50/300 nm) significantly elevates its worth for real time applications of HSC.