Hierarchically Structured Ni3S2/Carbon Nanotube Composites as High Performance Cathode Materials for Asymmetric Supercapacitors

Abstract

The Ni₃S₂ nanoparticles with the diameters ranging from 10 to 80 nm are grown on the backbone of conductive multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) using a glucose-assisted hydrothermal method. It is found that the Ni₃S₂ nanoparticles deposited on MWCNTs disassemble into smaller components after the composite electrode is activated by the consecutive cyclic voltammetry scan in a 2 M KOH solution. Therefore, the active surface area of the Ni₃S₂ nanoparticles is increased, which further enhances the capacitive performance of the composite electrode. Because the synergistic effect of the Ni₃S₂ nanoparticles and MWCNTs on the capacitive performance of the composite electrode is pronounced, the composite electrode shows a high specific capacitance of 800 F/g and great cycling stability at a current density of 3.2 A/g. To examine the capacitive performance of the composite electrode in a full-cell configuration, an asymmetric supercapacitor device was fabricated by using the composite of Ni₃S₂ and MWCNTs as the cathode and activated carbon as the anode. The fabricated device can be operated reversibly between 0 and 1.6 V, and obtain a high specific capacitance of 55.8 F/g at 1 A/g, which delivers a maximum energy density of 19.8 Wh/kg at a power density of 798 W/kg. Furthermore, the asymmetric supercapacitor shows great stability based on the fact that the device retains 90% of its initial capacitance after a consecutive 5000 cycles of galvanostatic charge–discharge performed at a current density of 4 A/g.