Redox additive effects on the electrochemical performance of hydrothermally grown, binder-free CuO nanosheets in aqueous electrolytes

Abstract

Adding redox additives into the traditional electrolytes is an efficient approach to achieving high-performance binary metal oxide electrode-based supercapacitors (SCs). Herein, binder-free CuO nanosheets are developed on nickel foams via a facile hydrothermal approach, and their charge storage performance in K3[Fe(CN)6] (KFCN) redox additive electrolyte is investigated. In a three-terminal (3T) configuration, the as-prepared electrode demonstrates a remarkable capacitance of 2755 mF cm−2 (2296 F g−1) in KFCN redox additive electrolyte, which is 10 times greater than that obtained in bare KOH electrolyte (266 mF cm−2 or 222 F g−1). Further, the 93 % capacitance retention after 2000 cyclic voltammetry cycles confirms the reasonable stability of the CuO electrode for SCs with redox additives electrolyte. Additionally, the assembled CuO electrodes-based solid state symmetric supercapacitor (SSC) with redox additive gel electrolyte achieves a maximum energy density (Es) of 31.5 Wh kg−1 at a power density (Ps) of 500 W kg−1. Furthermore, red LEDs are operated by the power source of two SSCs connected in the serial mode for 130 sec. This studies imply that utilizing CuO within redox additive electrolytes could present a simple and cost-effective approach for developing high-energy storage supercapacitors.