A high energy density asymmetric supercapacitor utilizing a nickel phosphate/graphene foam composite as the cathode and carbonized iron cations adsorbed onto polyaniline as the anode

A A Mirghni; M J Madito; K O Oyedotun; T M Masikhwa; N M Ndiaye; Sekhar J Ray; N Manyala

doi:10.1039/c7ra12028a

A high energy density asymmetric supercapacitor utilizing a nickel phosphate/graphene foam composite as the cathode and carbonized iron cations adsorbed onto polyaniline as the anode

RSC Adv. 2018 Mar 26;8(21):11608-11621. doi: 10.1039/c7ra12028a. eCollection 2018 Mar 21.

Authors

A A Mirghni¹, M J Madito¹, K O Oyedotun¹, T M Masikhwa¹, N M Ndiaye¹, Sekhar J Ray², N Manyala¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physics, Institute of Applied Materials, SARCHI Chair in Carbon Technology and Materials, University of Pretoria Pretoria 0028 South Africa ncholu.manyala@up.ac.za +(27)12 420 2516 +(27)12 420 3549.
² Department of Physics, College of Science, Engineering and Technology, University of South Africa Private Bag X6, Florida, 1710, Science Campus, Christiaan de Wet and Pioneer Avenue, Florida Park Johannesburg 1710 South Africa.

Abstract

This work presents the effect of different contents of graphene foam (GF) on the electrochemical capacitance of nickel phosphate Ni₃(PO₄)₂ nano-rods as an electrode material for hybrid electrochemical energy storage device applications. Pristine Ni₃(PO₄)₂ nano-rods and Ni₃(PO₄)₂/GF composites with different GF mass loadings of 30, 60, 90 and 120 mg were synthesised via a hydrothermal method. The electrochemical behavior of pristine Ni₃(PO₄)₂ and Ni₃(PO₄)₂/GF composites were analysed in a three-electrode cell configuration using 6 M KOH electrolyte. The Ni₃(PO₄)₂/90 mg GF composite sample exhibited the highest specific capacity of 48 mA h g^-1 at a current density of 0.5 A g^-1. The electrochemical behavior of the Ni₃(PO₄)₂/90 mg GF composite was further analysed in a two-electrode hybrid asymmetric device. A hybrid asymmetric device was fabricated with Ni₃(PO₄)₂/90 mg GF as the cathode and carbonized iron cations (Fe³⁺) adsorbed onto polyaniline (PANI) (C-FP) as the anode material (Ni₃(PO₄)₂/90 mg GF//C-FP) and tested in a wide potential window range of 0.0-1.6 V using 6 M KOH. This hybrid device achieved maximum energy and power densities of 49 W h kg^-1 and 499 W kg^-1, respectively, at 0.5 A g^-1 and had long-term cycling stability.