New 3D Porous Silver Nanopolycluster as a Highly Effective Supercapacitor Electrode: Synthesis and Study of the Optical and Electrochemical Properties

Abstract

A high-nucleus silver nanopolycluster as a new type of silver-based polymer supercapacitor (SSc) by a simple and single-step synthesis process was designed and synthesized. The structural, optical, and electrochemical properties of SSc-2 were determined. This highly stable conductive 3D nanopolycluster shows great cycling stability, large capacity, and high energy density without any modification or doping process and so acts as an excellent SSc (412 F g^–1 at 1.5 A g^–1). In addition, there was a stable cycling performance (94% capacitance) following 7000 cycles at 3 A g^–1 current density. The presence of fluorinated groups, 3D expansion of high-nucleus metallic clusters, and porosity are the advantages of SSc-2 that lead to stability, conductivity, and high capacity, respectively. These results lead to the development of a novel kind of SSc by overcoming the low conductivity and limited capacity challenges without any modification.