Synergistic Approach of High-Performance N-NiCo/PC Environment Benign Electrode Material for Energy Storage Device

The development of sustainable electrochemical energy storage devices faces a great challenge in exploring highly efficient and low-cost electrode materials. Biomass waste-derived carbonaceous materials can be used as an alternative to expensive metals in supercapacitors. However, their application is limited by low performance. In this study, the combination use of persimmon waste-derived carbon and transition metal nitride demonstrated strong potential for supercapacitor application. Persimmon-based carbonaceous gel decorated with bimetallic nitride (N-NiCo/PC) was firstly synthesized through a green hydrothermal method. Electrochemical properties of N-NiCo/PC electrode in 6 M KOH electrolyte solution were evaluated using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and charge-discharge measurements. The N-NiCo/PC exhibited 320 F/g specific capacitance at 1 A/g current density and maintained 91.4% capacitance retention after 1500 cycles. Additionally, it exhibited a high energy density of 29.44 Wh/kg at 1000 W/kg power density and sustained 5.5 Wh/kg energy density even at a power density of 10,000 W/kg. Hence, the bimetallic nitride-based composite catalyst is a potentially suitable material for high-performance energy storage devices. In addition, this work demonstrated a promising pathway for transforming environmental waste into sustainable energy conversion materials.