Nickel hydroxide supercapacitor with a theoretical capacitance and high rate capability based on hollow dendritic 3D-nickel current collectors

Abstract

A straightforward way to attain the theoretical capacitance and high rate capability of nickel hydroxide supercapacitors, by utilizing a mesoporous hollow dendritic three-dimensional-nickel (3D-Ni) current collector is proposed. A facile electrodeposition method employing a hydrogen bubble template was chosen for rapid fabrication of the dendritic 3D-nickel structure. After nickel hydroxide was deposited on the hollow 3D-nickel current collector, it exhibited a highest capacitance of 3637Fg(-1) at a current density of 1Ag(-1), and retained 97% of capacitance at a high current density of 100Ag(-1) with a cycle stability of over 80% after 10000 cycles. The enhanced performance could be attributed to the large surface area and high conductivity of the moss-like dendritic 3D-Ni current collector, which allowed direct contact between the active materials and the current collector, and reduced diffusion resistance between the surface of the active materials and the electrolyte. These results not only confirmed a facile fabrication method for high-performance 3D metal nanostructures, but also offer a promising solution for state-of-the-art energy storage systems.