Microwave Construction of NiSb/NiTe Composites on Ni-Foam for High-Performance Supercapacitors

Abstract

In this paper, NiSb/NiTe/Ni composites were smoothly developed via the microwave method for supercapacitors. The synthesis of NiSb/NiTe crystals was revealed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The analytic results of scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy uncover the microscopic morphology as well as the constituent elements of the composites. Self-supported NiSb/NiTe is a supercapacitor cathode that combines high capacitance with excellent cycling stability. The obtained composite electrode displayed remarkable electrochemical properties, presenting a special capacitance of 1870 F g^-1 (1 A g^-1) and 81.5% of the original capacity through 30,000 times (10 A g^-1) of the charging/discharging process. Further, an asymmetric supercapacitor was prepared employing NiSb/NiTe as a cathode and activated carbon as an anode. NiSb/NiTe//AC exhibited a high energy density of 224.6 uW h cm^-2 with a power density of 750 μW cm^-2 and provided a favorable cycling stability of 83% after 10,000 cycles.