Development of Nanoporous Nickel Oxide Materials as Electrodes for Supercapacitors

Abstract

As a potential electrochemical energy storage device, supercapacitor has been researched owing to its low weight, excellent power density, outstanding charging rate, and long durability. For the supercapacitor, the electrode material and its morphology determine its overall performance. Nickel oxide (NiO) is a promising material for the electrode because of its low cost, high specific capacitance, and eco-friendly manufacturing process. In this research, we developed a simple and cost-effective method to fabricate supercapacitor electrodes by electrospinning and thermal annealing, making porous nickel oxide nanofibers directly grow on 3D-nickel foam. The binder-free design and porous structure of electrodes enhance the ion transport and electron transfer in the supercapacitor. The crystal structure of NiO was identified by X-ray diffractometry (XRD). The morphological and microstructural characterization was analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The electrochemical test was carried out in a three-electrode electrochemical cell with the obtained foamed NiO as the working electrode, the platinum sheet as the counter electrode, and the Ag/Cl electrode as the reference electrode. The electrochemical performance was evaluated by using cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge/discharge technique, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). Due to the large specific surface area and good electrical conductivity of the NiO electrode, the supercapacitor exhibited excellent electrochemical performance (591 F/g at 2 A/g). After 1500 cycles of charging and discharging at 10 A/g, the capacitance of the supercapacitor using the NiO electrode increased by 21.7% with excellent cycle stability.