Investigating metal-organic framework as a new pseudo-capacitive material for supercapacitors

A new application of metal organic framework (MOF) as a pseudo-capacitive material for supercapacitors is investigated. To this end, a simple nickel-based MOF, formulated Ni-3(btc)(2)center dot 12H(2)O, is synthesized via a hydrothermal reaction. As an electro-active material, such nickel-based MOF exhibits superior pseudo-capacitive behavior in KOH aqueous electrolyte with a high specific capacitance of 726 F g(-1). Also, it displays good electrochemical stability with 94.6% of the initial capacitance over consecutive 1000 cycles. In addition, a simple asymmetric supercapacitor with a high energy density of 16.5 Wh kg(-1) is successfully built using the nickel-based MOP as positive electrode and commercial activated carbon as negative electrode in KOH electrolyte. (C) 2014 Ling-Bin Kong. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Chinese Chemical Society. All rights reserved.