DNA-assisted assembly of carbon nanotubes and MnO2 nanospheres as electrodes for high-performance asymmetric supercapacitors

Abstract

A DNA-assisted assembly approach is developed to fabricate a capacitor-type electrode material, DNA-functionalized carbon nanotubes (CNTs@DNA), and a battery-type electrode material, DNA@CNTs-bridged MnO₂ spheres (CNTs@DNA–MnO₂), for asymmetric supercapacitors. An energy density of 11.6 W h kg⁻¹ is achieved at a power density of 185.5 W kg⁻¹ with a high MnO₂ mass loading of 4.2 mg cm⁻². It is found that DNA assembly plays a critical role in the enhanced supercapacitor performance. This is because while DNA molecules functionalize carbon nanotubes (CNTs) via π–π stacking, their hydrophilic sugar-phosphate backbones also promote the dispersion of CNTs. The resultant CNTs@DNA chains can link multiple MnO₂ spheres to form a networked architecture that facilitates charge transfer and effective MnO₂ utilization. The improved performance of the asymmetric supercapacitors indicates that DNA-assisted assembly offers a promising approach to the fabrication of high-performance energy storage devices.