Molecular Engineering of Phthalocyanines for Enhanced Supercapacitor Performance: Role of Peripheral Groups and Central Ni Coordination
Damla Şahin a, Perihan Kubra Degirmencioglu b, Sirin Siyahjani-Gultekin a, Buse Sert b, Ersan Harputlu b, Mine İnce b, Burak Gultekin a, Ceylan Zafer a
a Ege University Solar Energy Institute, Ege University Solar Energy Institute 35100 Bornova Izmir Turkey, Izmir, 35100, Turkey
b Tarsus University, Faculty of Engineering, Turkey, Tarsus Yolu, Turkey
Proceedings of MATSUS Fall 2025 Conference (MATSUSFall25)
C1 Emerging sustainable battery technologies: advances in electrode, electrolyte and interf(ph)ase design - #SusBat
València, Spain, 2025 October 20th - 24th
Organizers: Nuria Tapia Ruiz and Maider Zarrabeitia
Poster, Burak Gultekin, 459
Publication date: 21st July 2025

The rapid transition to sustainable energy technologies necessitates advanced electrochemical energy storage (EES) systems that can balance energy density, power density, and cycling stability. Among the diverse EES technologies, batteries provide high energy densities but often suffer from limited cycle life and slower charge–discharge rates. In contrast, supercapacitors excel in delivering high power density and long-term cycling stability, yet typically lag behind batteries in energy density. Bridging this performance gap is a major challenge and an active area of materials research. Organic macrocycles, such as phthalocyanines (Pcs), represent a promising class of electrode materials due to their π-conjugated frameworks, structural tunability, and potential pseudocapacitive contributions [1]. Both peripheral substituents and the central metal atom can significantly influence their electrochemical properties, affecting dispersion, electronic structure, and ion accessibility. In this study, we systematically evaluated the capacitive performance of three Pc-based electrodes at a fixed loading of 0.3 mg active material: (i) HPcIm, imidazole-substituted; (ii) HPc, unsubstituted; and (iii) NiPcIm, nickel-centered imidazole-substituted. The electrodes were prepared as composites with reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and tested in aqueous 1 M HSO using cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge–discharge (GCD), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results confirm that peripheral functionalization and central atom coordination are decisive parameters in charge storage performance. At 0.3 mg, HPcIm exhibited higher capacitance and energy density (190.8 F/g, 21.2 Wh/kg) than unsubstituted HPc (137.9 F/g, 15.4 Wh/kg), demonstrating the beneficial role of imidazole substituents in improving molecular dispersion and ion transport. More remarkably, NiPcIm delivered the best performance (219.7 F/g, 77.6 Wh/kg), surpassing both HPc derivatives. This highlights a synergistic effect where peripheral groups and the central Ni² atom together modulate ion-accessible sites and interfacial conductivity, leading to substantially improved energy density. These findings underscore that molecular engineering of phthalocyanines, via simultaneous control of substituents and metal centers, provides an effective strategy to enhance energy and power densities in supercapacitor electrodes, thereby contributing to the broader development of advanced electrochemical energy storage technologies.

This research was carried out as part of the Research Universities Support Program Project (Project No. FM-ADP-2022-25281). The authors also gratefully acknowledge the Presidency of the Turkish Republic, Department of Strategy and Budget, for providing infrastructure under Project No. 2016K12-2841.

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