Elucidating electrochemical energy storage performance of unary, binary, and ternary transition metal phosphates and their composites with carbonaceous materials for supercapacitor applications

Transition metal compounds (TMCs) are being researched as promising electrode materials for electrochemical energy storage devices (supercapacitors). Among TMCs, transition metal phosphates (TMPs) have good, layered structures owing to open framework and protonic exchange capability among different layers, good surface area due to engrossed porosity, rich active redox reaction sites owing to octahedral structure and variable valance metallic ions. Hence TMPs become more ideal for supercapacitor electrode materials compared to other TMCs. However, TMPs have got some issues like low conductivity, rate performance, stability, energy, and power densities. But these problems can be addressed by making their composites with carbonaceous materials e.g., carbon nanotubes (CNTs), graphene oxide (GO), graphitic carbon (GC) etc. A few factors like high surface area, excellent electrical conductivity of carbon materials and variable valence metal ions in TMPs caused great enhancement in their electrochemical performance. This article tries to discuss and compare the published data, majorly in last decade, regarding the electrochemical energy storage potential of pristine unary, binary, and ternary TMPs and their hybrid composites with carbonaceous materials (CNTs, GOs/rGOs/, GC etc.). The electrochemical performance of the hybrids has been reported to be higher than the pristine counterparts. It is hoped that the current review will open a new gateway to study and explore the high performance TMPs based supercapacitor materials.