Hierarchical flower-like architecture of nickel phosphide anchored with nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots and cobalt oxide for advanced hybrid supercapacitors

Zhenyuan Ji; Kai Liu; Lizhi Chen; Yunjin Nie; Drolma Pasang; Qiang Yu; Xiaoping Shen; Keqiang Xu; Subramanian Premlatha

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2021.11.055

Hierarchical flower-like architecture of nickel phosphide anchored with nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots and cobalt oxide for advanced hybrid supercapacitors

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2022 Mar:609:503-512. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2021.11.055. Epub 2021 Nov 15.

Authors

Zhenyuan Ji¹, Kai Liu², Lizhi Chen², Yunjin Nie², Drolma Pasang², Qiang Yu², Xiaoping Shen³, Keqiang Xu⁴, Subramanian Premlatha²

Affiliations

¹ School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, PR China. Electronic address: jizhenyuan@ujs.edu.cn.
² School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, PR China.
³ School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, PR China. Electronic address: shenxp@ujs.edu.cn.
⁴ Key Laboratory for Advanced Technology in Environmental Protection of Jiangsu Province, Yancheng Institute of Technology, Yancheng 224051, PR China.

PMID: 34809991
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2021.11.055

Abstract

The exploitation of hybrid supercapacitors with excellent electrochemical properties is of great significance for energy storage systems. Herein, a three-dimensional hierarchical flower-like architecture of nickel phosphide (Ni₂P) decorated with nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots (N-CQDs) and cobalt oxide (Co₃O₄) is constructed by an effective two-step hydrothermal strategy followed by in situ phosphorization process. Introducing N-CQDs with superior electrochemical characteristics can not only induce the formation of N-CQDs deposited nickel hydroxide (Ni(OH)₂) flower-like architecture but also significantly enhance the electrochemical features of Ni(OH)₂ nanosheets. After combination with Co₃O₄ nanoparticles and phosphorization treatment, an advanced cathode of Ni₂P/Co₃O₄/N-CQDs with enriched surface phosphate ions is obtained, which possesses an ultra-high capacity of 1044 C g^-1 (2088 F g^-1) at 1 A g^-1 with a splendid rate capacity of 876 C g^-1 (1752 F g^-1) at 20 A g^-1. Moreover, a device assembled by Ni₂P/Co₃O₄/N-CQDs hierarchical flower-like architecture and p-phenylenediamine functionalized reduced graphene oxide (PPD/rGO) nanosheets depicts a commendable energy density of 53.5 Wh kg^-1 at 772.9 W kg^-1. This work provides a novel hierarchical multi-component electrode material with decent electrochemical capacities for hybrid supercapacitors, which has a broad prospect in energy storage devices.

Keywords: Carbon quantum dots; Cobalt oxide; Flower-like architecture; Hybrid supercapacitor; Nickel phosphide.