Binder-free engineering design of Ni-MOF ultrathin sheet-like grown on PANI@GO decorated nickel foam as an electrode for in hydrogen evolution reaction and asymmetric supercapacitor

Abstract

In this study, Ni3(benzene 1,3,5-tricarboxylic acid)@polyaniline-rGO nanocomposite (Ni-MOF@PANI-rGO) is fabricated by a two-step procedure involving polymerization and hydrothermal operations. This nanocomposite-based Ni-MOF was designed for binder-free surface modification of nickel foam (NF). This is offered a novel approach for enhancing the electrochemical performance, and even energy density with a wider operating potential window. An in-situ Ni-MOF was then synthesized on polyaniline@GO (PANI-GO) using an NH-fragment linker and an in-situ hydrothermal technique. The electrochemical behavior of the nanocomposite was studied in asymmetric systems and exhibited outstanding electrochemical performance, high energy density, and power density (73.99 Wh kg−1 at 848.29 W kg−1). The electrode also showed a high specific capacity (1680 C g−1 at 1.0 A g−1) and exceptional cycling stability (92⁒) after 5000 cycles in a three-electrode system. The present results imply a direct application of Ni-MOF@PANI-rGO composite as a bridge performance between supercapacitors and batteries. In addition, the electrocatalyst activity of Ni-MOF@PANI-rGO toward hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) was investigated by linear sweep voltammetry at a scan rate of 10 mV s−1 in 1.0 M KOH. The results showed that Ni-MOF@PAN-rGO acts as a suitable electrocatalyst with the lowest overpotential at 10, 50, and 80 mA cm−2 and the lowest Tafel slope.