Unveiling the Redox Electrochemistry of MOF-Derived fcc-NiCo@GC Polyhedron as an Advanced Electrode Material for Boosting Specific Energy of the Supercapattery

Abstract

Metal organic frameworks (MOFs), which constitute a new class of porous organic-inorganic hybrid materials, have gained considerable attention in the fields of electrochemical energy storage and conversion devices owing to their open topological structures, large surface areas, tunable morphologies, and extreme redox activity. A synthesis protocol that comprises coprecipitation followed by controlled calcination processes to design a battery-type electrode is used. This electrode consists of three-dimensional (3D), ant cave-like polyhedrons of nickel-cobalt alloy on graphitic carbon (GC; NiCo@GC) nanostructures; trimesic acid is used as a potential MOF-linker. The developed NiCo@GC sample exhibits mesoporous characteristics with the maximum surface area of 94.08 m(2) g(-1) at 77 K. In addition, the redox activity at different sweep rates reveals the battery-type charge storage behavior of the NiCo@GC electrode; its three-electrode assembly provides 444 C g(-1) specific capacity at 2 A g(-1) with long-term capacity retention. The constructed supercapattery (SC) devices (i.e., AC//NiCo@GC) achieved capacity, specific energy, and specific power are 74.3 mAh g(-1), 39.5 Wh kg(-1), and 665 W kg(-1), respectively. Owing to its reasonable electrochemical characteristics, the prepared NiCo@GC material is a promising candidate for supercapattery electrodes for portable electronic devices.