Facile electrodeposition of Ni3(BO3)2 nanospheres on Ti mesh for high-performance asymmetric supercapacitors

The construction of cost-effective, efficient, and sustainable energy storage systems is extremely important for future fuels globally. Nickel borates display important characteristics in electrochemical catalytic applications, whereas few reports have focused on their energy storage properties in supercapacitors. Herein, Ni 3 (BO 3 ) 2 nanospheres (NSs) are fabricated on titanium (Ti) mesh to afford Ni 3 (BO 3 ) 2 NSs@Ti using a simple and scalable electrodeposition technique, whose electrochemical performance is carefully studied. The Ni 3 (BO 3 ) 2 NSs@Ti obtained at 1.2 V (Ni 3 (BO 3 ) 2 NSs-1.2V) exhibits a higher specific capacitance of 663 F g −1 with a current density of 0.5 A g −1 . Furthermore, by directly employing Ni 3 (BO 3 ) 2 NSs-1.2V as the positive electrode and activated carbon as the negative electrode, an asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) device can be fabricated and displays the energy density up to 30.6 Wh kg −1 at the power density of 400 W kg −1 . Hence, the facile electrodeposited Ni 3 (BO 3 ) 2 NSs can be a potential platform for energy storage applications. • Ni 3 (BO 3 ) 2 is first used as cathode material for high-performance asymmetric supercapacitors. • Active centers formed on the numerous inherent defects of the Ni 3 (BO 3 ) 2 NSs surfaces allow for ion diffusion in the electrolyte as well as rapid electron transmission. • The Ni 3 (BO 3 ) 2 NSs@Ti-1.2V//AC is assembled with a high energy density (30.6 Wh kg -1 ) at the power density of 400 W kg -1 .