Fructose 1,6-bisphosphate trisodium salt as a new organic phosphorus source for synthesis of nanoporous amorphous nickel phosphate microspheres electrode materials in supercapacitors

Abstract

Nanoporous amorphous nickel phosphate (Ni3(PO4)2) with microsphere structures have been investigated for applications as electrode material owing to their excellent electrochemical performance. However, Ni3(PO4)2 are usually prepared traditionally from inorganic phosphorus. Herein, we report a new synthetic strategy by using fructose 1,6-bisphosphate trisodium salt (FBP) as an organic phosphorus source and a porogen. The formation of nanoporous amorphous Ni3(PO4)2 microspheres structures, as well as the effect of applied calcination temperatures on the morphology and crystallinity of the final phosphate materials, is systematically researched. According to data, our amorphous Ni3(PO4)2 material possess a superior specific capacitance of 1040 F g−1 at the current density of 0.5 A g−1 and a favourable rate performance, as compared to various phosphate nanomaterials reported previously. Furthermore, the Ni3(PO4)2 electrodes fabricated in this work are low-cost, efficient, and composed of naturally abundant materials, becoming a potential energy storage material.