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

A new application ofmetal organic framework (MOF) as a pseudo-capacitive material for supercapacitors is investigated. To this end, a simple nickel-based MOF, formulated Ni₃(btc)₂•12H₂O, is synthesized via a hydrothermal reaction. As an electro-active material, such nickel-based MOF exhibits superior pseudocapacitive 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 MOF as positive electrode and commercial activated carbon as negative electrode in KOH electrolyte.