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High-performance supercapacitors based on Ni2P@CNT nanocomposites prepared using an ultrafast microwave approach

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Abstract

We present a one-step route for the preparation of nickel phosphide/carbon nanotube (Ni2P@CNT) nano-composites for supercapacitor applications using a facile, ultrafast (90 s) microwave-based approach. Ni2P nanoparticles could grow uniformly on the surface of CNTs under the optimized reaction conditions, namely, a feeding ratio of 30:50:25 for CNT, Ni(NO3)2 · 6H2O, and red phosphorus and a microwave power of 1000 W for 90 s. Our study demonstrated that the single-step microwave synthesis process for creating metal phosphide nanoparticles was faster and simpler than all the other existing methods. Electrochemical results showed that the specific capacitance of the optimal Ni2P@CNT-nanocomposite electrode displayed a high specific capacitance of 854 F · g−1 at 1 A · g−1 and a superior capacitance retention of 84% after 5000 cycles at 10 A·g−1. Finally, an asymmetric supercapacitor was assembled using the nanocomposite with activated carbon as one electrode (Ni2P@CNT//AC), which showed a remarkable energy density of 33.5 W · h · kg−1 and a power density of 387.5 W·kg−1. This work will pave the way for the microwave synthesis of other transition metal phosphide materials for use in energy storage systems.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 21306124) for the financial support of this work and Haishun Du acknowledges the financial support from the China Scholarship Council (Grant No. 201708120052).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Materials Science and Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan, 030024, China

    Yunrui Tian, Wenjie Dong, Yayun Zheng, Shumin Wang, Qingping Guo & Jujie Luo

  2. Department of Chemical Engineering, Auburn University, Auburn, AL, 36849, USA

    Haishun Du, Shatila Sarwar & Xinyu Zhang

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  1. Yunrui Tian
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  2. Haishun Du
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  3. Shatila Sarwar
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  4. Wenjie Dong
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  5. Yayun Zheng
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  7. Qingping Guo
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Correspondence to Jujie Luo or Xinyu Zhang.

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Tian, Y., Du, H., Sarwar, S. et al. High-performance supercapacitors based on Ni2P@CNT nanocomposites prepared using an ultrafast microwave approach. Front. Chem. Sci. Eng. 15, 1021–1032 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11705-020-2006-x

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