The rational design of improved electrode–electrolyte interfaces (EEI) for energy storage is critically dependent on a molecular-level understanding of ionic interactions and nanoscale phenomena. The presence of non-redox active species at EEI has been shown to strongly influence Faradaic efficiency and long-term operational stability during energy storage processes. Herein, we achieve substantially higher performance and long-term stability of EEI prepared with highly dispersed discrete redox-active cluster anions (50 ng of pure ~0.75 nm size molybdenum polyoxometalate (POM) anions on 25 μg (~0.2 wt%) carbon nanotube (CNT) electrodes) by complete elimination of strongly coordinating non-redox species through ion soft landing (SL). Electron microscopy provides atomically resolved images of a uniform distribution of individual POM species soft landed directly on complex technologically relevant CNT electrodes. In this context, SL is established as a versatile approach for the controlled design of novel surfaces for both fundamental and applied research in energy storage.

Nature Communications 7, Article number: 11399 doi:10.1038/ncomms11399
Received 19 October 2015 Accepted 22 March 2016 Published 21 April 2016

http://www.nature.com/ncomms/2016/160421/ncomms11399/full/ncomms11399.html