A novel fluffy nanostructured 3D network of Ni(C7H4O5) for supercapacitors

Abstract Supercapacitors have raised considerable research interest in recent years due to their extensive potential application in next-generation energy storage. It is always of great importance to develop new electrode materials for supercapacitors so far. In this research, nickel gallate complex (Ni(C 7 H 4 O 5 )) nanostructures are successfully grown on nickel foam by a facile hydrothermal route, which can be directly used as the electrodes for supercapacitors. X-ray diffraction patterns show that the sample is amorphous. The scanning electron microscopy images reveal that the products consist of novel fluffy 3D network with a mass of fibers. The electrochemical measurements demonstrate that the prepared Ni(C 7 H 4 O 5 ) electrode possesses the specific capacitance of 3.688 F cm −2 (1229.3 F g −1 ) at a current density of 9 mA cm −2 (3 A g −1 ). It presents an excellent cycling stability with a capacitance retention of 87.9% after 5000 cycles even at a very high current density of 40 mA cm −2 . An asymmetric supercapacitor device is assembled using the Ni(C 7 H 4 O 5 ) sample as positive electrode and activated carbon as negative one. A high gravimetric capacitance of 71.4 F g −1 at a current density of 0.5 A g −1 can be achieved. The fabricated device delivers the highest energy density of 23.8 W h kg −1 at a power density of 388.2 W kg −1 with a voltage window of 1.55 V. This strategy should be extended to other organometallic compounds for supercapacitors.