Low-cost, large-scale, one-pot synthesis of C/Ni3(NO3)2(OH)4 composites for high performance supercapacitor

Abstract

In this study, we report a series of carbon/nickel-based composites. The composites are prepared through a facile one-pot solution combustion method by using nickel nitrate hydrate (Ni(NO3)2·6H2O) as an oxidizer and glucose (C6H12O6) as a fuel material. The phase, component and electrochemical capacitive behavior of the as-prepared samples are investigated. The component of the obtained composites could be simply controlled by changing the ratio of NO3−/C6H12O6. Novel C/Ni3(NO3)2(OH)4 composites are obtained at high molar ratio of NO3−/C6H12O6 (larger than 9) for the first time. The as-prepared C/Ni3(NO3)2(OH)4 composite shows battery-type behavior and exhibits a specific capacity of 630 C g−1 (1260 F g−1) at the current density of 1 A g−1, which is ca. 2–10 fold higher than those of C/NiO composite (414 C g−1, 828 F g−1) and C/NiO/Ni composite (65 C g−1, 129 F g−1). In addition, C/Ni3(NO3)2(OH)4 composite exhibits an excellent rate performance (448 C g−1, 996 F g−1 at 10 A g−1) and good cyclic stability. The results indicate that the C/Ni3(NO3)2(OH)4 composite is a potential electrode material for electrochemical supercapacitor. This work also suggests that the solution combustion process is promising for large-scale production of materials for supercapacitors.