The electrochemical performance of ordered mesoporous carbon/nickel compounds composite material for supercapacitor

A series of high performance ordered mesoporous carbon/nickel compounds composites have been synthesized by a combination of incipient wetness impregnation and hydrothermal method for the first time. X-ray diffraction (XRD). N-2 adsorption/desorption isotherms and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) are used to characterize the composites derived at the hydrothermal temperature of 125, 150, 175, 200, 250, 275 and 300 degrees C. The formation of nanosized nickel compounds, fully inside the mesopore system, was confirmed with XRD and TEM. An N-2 adsorption/desorption isotherms measurements still revealed mesoporosity for the host/guest compounds. It is noteworthy that an OMC/nickel nitrate hydroxide hydrate composite (OMCN-150) exhibits more excellent performance. Based on the various hydrothermal temperatures of the composite, the capacitance of an OMCN-150 delivering the best electrochemical performance is about 2.4 (5 mV s(-1)) and 1.5 (50 mV s(-1)) times of the pristine OMC. The capacitance retention of an OMCN-150 is 96.1%, which indicates that the electrochemical performance of the supercapacitor is improved greatly, and represents novel research and significant advances in the field of electrode composite materials for supercapacitor. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.