Construction of MOFs derived porous carbon based core–shell hetero-structure electrode for superior asymmetric supercapacitor

The design of electrode materials with high performance is very important to improve the energy density of supercapacitors (SCs). The combination of electrical double layer capacitor and pseudo-capacitive materials can significantly improve the electrochemical performance of material, but reasonable structural design can inhibit the slow Faraday dynamic mismatch caused by different storage mechanisms. In this study, NiCoB nanosheets were grown on the surface of cobalt metal-organic frameworks (Co-MOF) derived porous carbon (Co-C) by chemical precipitation method to form a core–shell hetero-structure Co-C@NiCoB electrode. The Co-C@NiCoB electrode has the specific capacitance of 2990 F g−1 at 1 A g−1, which is significantly higher than that of Co-C (416 F g−1) and NiCoB (1052 F g−1). In order to further increase the energy density of the device, the carbon nano-sheets with cactus shape as cathode were obtained by calcination of Co-MOF (CNS). The asymmetric SCs with CNS as cathode and Co-C@NiCoB as anode have a high energy density of 66.03 Wh kg−1 at the power density of 763.35 W kg−1 and exceptional cycling life with capacitance retention of 92.1% over 10000 cycles.