Activated carbon induced oxygen vacancies-engineered nickel ferrite with enhanced conductivity for supercapacitor application

Abstract

NiFe₂O₄ is a kind of bimetallic oxide possessing excellent theoretical capacity and application prospect in the field of supercapacitors. Whereas, due to the inherent poor conductivity of metal oxides, the performance of NiFe₂O₄ is not ideal in practice. Oxygen vacancies can not only enhance the conductivities of NiFe₂O₄ but also provide better adsorption of OH, which is beneficial to the electrochemical performances. Hence, oxygen vacancies engineered NiFe₂O₄ (NiFe₂O_4‒δ) is obtained through a two-step method, including a hydrothermal reaction and a further heat treatment in activated carbon bed. Results of electron paramagnetic resonance spectra indicate that more oxygen vacancies exist in the treated NiFe₂O_4‒δ than the original one. UV-Vis diffuse reflectance spectra prove that the treated NiFe₂O_4‒δ owns better conductivity than the original NiFe₂O₄. As for the electrochemical performances, the treated NiFe₂O_4‒δ performs a high specific capacitance of 808.02 F∙g^‒1 at 1 A∙g^‒1. Moreover, the asymmetric supercapacitor of NiFe₂O_4‒δ//active carbon displays a high energy density of 17.7 Wh∙kg^‒1 at the power density of 375 W∙kg^‒1. This work gives an effective way to improve the conductivity of metal oxides, which is beneficial to the application of metal oxides in supercapacitors.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

nickel ferrite / oxygen vacancy / high conductivity / supercapacitor

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