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Updated: Aug 8, 2026
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Evaluating the Electrochemical Properties of Supercapacitors using the Three-Electrode System
Published on: January 7, 2022
Field-Free Spin-Polarized Charge Transport in Chiral Co3O4 Boosts Supercapacitor Kinetics
Likun Tang1, Xiaoming Li1, Chongyang Yao1
1State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of Polymers, Department of Macromolecular Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, P. R. China.
Angewandte Chemie (International Ed. in English)
|August 7, 2026
Summary
Chirality regulates electron spin transport in supercapacitors via the chiral-induced spin selectivity (CISS) effect. This enables high-performance, field-free energy storage by enhancing charge transfer in chiral cobalt oxide electrodes.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Electrochemistry
- Nanotechnology
Background:
- Supercapacitors have high power density but limited charge-transfer kinetics.
- Magnetic-field-assisted spin control is promising but faces integration challenges.
- Chirality offers a potential field-free alternative for regulating electrochemical kinetics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish chirality as an intrinsic, field-free method to regulate electron spin transport in supercapacitors.
- To investigate the use of the chiral-induced spin selectivity (CISS) effect for enhancing supercapacitor performance.
- To engineer high-performance supercapacitors utilizing spin-aware design principles.
Main Methods:
- Templating cobalt hydroxide nanoflakes with enantiopure threonine.
- Calcination to create chiral inorganic Co3O4 films.
- Magnetic conductive-probe AFM, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and distribution of relaxation times analysis.
Main Results:
- Demonstrated pronounced spin-selective transport (spin polarization up to ~48%) in chiral Co3O4 films at room temperature.
- Chiral Co3O4 electrodes showed enhanced specific capacitance, rate capability, and cycling stability without magnetic fields.
- Identified a 6.4-fold reduction in charge-transfer resistance and accelerated pseudocapacitive kinetics due to CISS effect.
Conclusions:
- Chirality is a viable intrinsic handle for regulating spin transport in supercapacitors, overcoming limitations of external magnetic fields.
- The CISS effect in chiral Co3O4 facilitates interfacial electron transfer by suppressing spin-flip scattering.
- This work introduces chirality as a new design dimension for advanced electrochemical energy storage devices.
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