Construction of hierarchical MOF-derived CoS2 microsheet arrays@NiMo2S4 nanoflakes on Ni foam as a high-performance supercapacitor electrode

Hybrid supercapacitors using metal-organic framework derived nickel-sulfur compounds

HYPOTHESIS

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are highly suitable precursors for supercapacitor electrode materials owing to their high porosity and stable backbone structures that offer several advantages for redox reactions and rapid ion transport.

EXPERIMENTS

In this study, a carbon-coated Ni9S8 composite (Ni9S8@C-5) was prepared via sulfuration at 500 ℃ using a spherical Ni-MOF as the sacrificial template.

FINDING

The stable carbon skeleton derived from Ni-MOF and positive structure-activity relationship due to the multinuclear Ni9S8 components resulted in a specific capacity of 278.06 mAh·g-1 at 1 A·g-1. Additionally, the hybrid supercapacitor (HSC) constructed using Ni9S8@C-5 as the positive electrode and the laboratory-prepared coal pitch-based activated carbon (CTP-AC) as the negative electrode achieved an energy density of 69.32 Wh·kg-1 at a power density of 800.06 W·kg-1, and capacity retention of 83.06 % after 5000 cycles of charging and discharging at 5 A·g-1. The Ni-MOF sacrificial template method proposed in this study effectively addresses the challenges associated with structural collapse and agglomeration of Ni9S8 during electrochemical reactions, thus improving its electrochemical performance. Hence, a simple preparation method is demonstrated, with broad application prospects in supercapacitor electrodes.

N-doped porous carbon with ZIF-67-derived CoFe2O4-Fe particles for supercapacitors

The development of novel materials for electrodes with high energy densities is essential to the advancement of energy storage technologies. In this study, N-doped layered porous carbon with ZIF-67-derived binary CoFe2O4-Fe particles was successfully fabricated by the pyrolysis of an Fe-based chitosan (CS) hydrogel mixed with ZIF-67 particles. Various characterization techniques were employed to assess the performance of the prepared porous CoFe2O4-Fe@NC composite. This composite exhibits excellent performance owing to the effective combination of multivalent CoFe2O4-Fe particles derived from ZIF-67 with N-doped porous carbon substances with a high surface area, which helps to accelerate ion and charge transfer. The specific capacitance of the CoFe2O4-Fe@NC composite carbonized at 700 °C reached 3960.9F/g at 1 A/g. When this composite is combined with activated carbon (AC) to construct an asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC), a density of energy of up to 84.9 W h kg-1 is attained at a power capacity of 291.6 W kg-1. Moreover, this composite maintained a capacitance retention of up to 94.9 % after 10,000 cycles. This work offers new perspectives on high-performance supercapacitors and their applications.

Efficient metal-organic framework-based dual co-catalysts system assist CdS for hydrogen production from photolysis of water

Metal-organic framework materials (MOFs) and their derivatives have been widely used in the field of photocatalytic water decomposition for hydrogen production. In this study, NiS/CdS was initially acquired and subsequently combined with DUT-67 via ultrasound to create a unique ternary photocatalyst NiS/CdS@DUT-67. The rate of hydrogen production for NiS/CdS@DUT-67 is 9618 μmol·g NiS/CdS-1·h-1 for NiS/CdS@DUT-67, which is 32 times and 2.5 times higher than that for CdS and NiS/CdS, respectively. Of particular interest is the fact that even after 50 h of photocatalysis, the hydrogen production rate did not show a significant decrease, demonstrating its excellent stability compared to CdS and NiS/CdS. In this ternary system, NiS and DUT-67 function as dual co-catalysts for CdS, collaborating to enhance charge separation during the photocatalysis. This study presents a clear demonstration of the advantages of utilizing metal-organic framework derivatives (MOF-derivatives) cophotocatalysts and their synergistic effect, resulting in improved photocatalytic activity and stability of semiconductors. This innovative approach provides a new perspective on constructing photocatalytic materials with exceptional performance.