Fabrication of 9.6\u2009V High-performance Asymmetric Supercapacitors Stack Based on Nickel Hexacyanoferrate-derived Ni(OH)2 Nanosheets and Bio-derived Activated Carbon

Abstract

Hydrated Ni(OH)2 and activated carbon based electrodes are widely used in electrochemical applications. Here we report the fabrication of symmetric supercapacitors using Ni(OH)2 nanosheets and activated carbon as positive and negative electrodes in aqueous electrolyte, respectively. The asymmetric supercapacitors stack connected in series exhibited a stable device voltage of 9.6 V and delivered a stored high energy and power of 30 mWh and 1632 mW, respectively. The fabricated device shows an excellent electrochemical stability and high retention of 81% initial capacitance after 100,000 charge-discharges cycling at high charging current of 500 mA. The positive electrode material Ni(OH)2 nanosheets was prepared through chemical decomposition of nickel hexacyanoferrate complex. The XRD pattern revealed the high crystalline nature of Ni(OH)2 with an average crystallite size of ~10 nm. The nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms of Ni(OH)2 nanosheets indicate the formation of mesoporous Ni(OH)2 nanosheets. The chemical synthesis of Ni(OH)2 results the formation of hierarchical nanosheets that are randomly oriented which was confirmed by FE-SEM and HR-TEM analysis. The negative electrode, activated porous carbon (OPAA-700) was obtained from orange peel waste. The electrochemical properties of Ni(OH)2 nanosheets and OPAA-700 were studied and exhibit a high specific capacity of 1126 C/g and high specific capacitance of 311 F/g at current density of 2 A/g, respectively. Ni(OH)2 nanosheets delivered a good rate performance and remarkable capacitance retention of 96% at high current density of 32 A/g.