AC/Ni(OH)2 as a porous electrode material for supercapacitors with high-performance

Abstract

Commonly used nickel-based compounds as electrode materials have low rate capability and poor long-term cycling stability, which limit their practical applications. In this case, it may be an idea to synthesize a composite combining carbon-based electric double layer capacitors and pseudocapacitors. In this study, a novel porous AC/Ni(OH)2 composite was prepared by hydrothermal method, which was used as an electrode for a supercapacitor for the first time with a specific capacity of 183.7 mAh g−1 at 1 A g−1 and a cycling stability of 90.2% after 3000 cycles. Moreover, there is a hybrid supercapacitor (HSC) device assembled by using AC/Ni(OH)2 and active carbon (AC). On the condition of having a power density of 801.5 W kg−1 with the voltage window of 1.6 V, the HSC produces a high energy density of 37.58 Wh kg−1, maintaining an outstanding capacitance retention of 88.5% after 3000 cycles at current density of 8 A g−1. Therefore, AC/Ni(OH)2 electrode material helps to improve the performance of the HSC device and can be used as an electrode material for the development of energy storage devices in the future.