Hybrid nanocomposites of AuNP@C@NiO synthesized via in-situ reduction as promising electrode materials for high-performance supercapacitor

Porous activated carbon materials are extensively used as adsorbent electrode materials for energy storage devices because of their impressive superlative characteristics, such as large specific surface area, high electrical conductivity and low cost. In this work, Hierarchical porous carbon and nickel oxide nanocomposites modified by gold nanoparticles (AuNP@C@NiO-x) were synthesized through in-situ reduction methods and used as high-performance electrode material supercapacitors. The obtained nanocomposites material consisted of NiO, AuNPs nanoparticles on the surface of activated carbon material, in which the activated carbon was used as a hollow structure to attachment of NiO and AuNPs nanoparticles. The electrochemical analysis demonstrated that the AuNP@C@NiO-x composite electrode significantly improved electrochemical performance compared to the activated carbon and pristine NiO. The result shows that the AuNP@PC@NiO-x composites have the highest specific capacitance of 485.7 F/g at the current density of 1.0 A/g and lower charge-transfer resistance than pure NiO. Furthermore, the assembled asymmetric device (AuNP@PC@NiO-0.15/AC) demonstrated a maximum energy density of 19.22 Wh/kg at a power density of 175.2 W/kg and a better specific capacity retain of 84.2% at a current density of 1.0 A/g after 5000 cycles.

Automated summary

In this study, hierarchical porous carbon and nickel oxide nanocomposites modified by gold nanoparticles were successfully synthesized and used as high-performance electrode materials for supercapacitors. The nanocomposite material exhibited superior electrochemical performance compared to traditional activated carbon and pristine nickel oxide.