Rapid synthesis of nickel‑copper phosphate electrode by microwave-assisted hydrothermal reaction for supercapattery

This study reports the fabrication of binder-free nickel‑copper phosphate (NCP) battery-type electrode via microwave-assisted hydrothermal method for the first time. This fabrication method involved microwave heating which significantly reduced the reaction time compared to the conventional hydrothermal method. The NCP electrodes with different precursor ratios (Ni:Cu of 4:0, 3:1, 1:1, 1:3, and 0:4) were fabricated at 90 °C for 12.5 min. Among all NCP binder-free electrodes, Ni3-Cu-P electrode (Ni:Cu of 3:1) exhibited superior electrochemical performance by showing the highest specific capacity of 1030.8 C/g and areal capacity of 0.72 C/cm² at 3 A/g, and the lowest charge transfer (25.9 Ω) and ion diffusion resistances. These can be explained by the fact that Ni3-Cu-P electrode had a small-sized microsphere electrode material with an amorphous structure deposited on the nickel foam. The small-sized microsphere provided a larger surface area for faradaic reaction. Besides, the amorphous structure offered more electrochemical sites for faradaic reaction. Therefore, it was selected as the battery-type electrode for supercapattery. The Ni3-Cu-P//AC supercapattery delivered a higher energy density of 51.6 Wh/kg at 2.25 kW/kg power density, and outstanding stability with 91.3 % capacity retention after 3000 cycles.