Construction of a uniform zeolitic imidazole framework (ZIF-8) nanocrystal through a wet chemical route towards supercapacitor application

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Exploring larger surface area electrode materials is crucial for the development of an efficient supercapacitors (SCs) with superior electrochemical performance. Herein, a cost-effective strategy was adopted to synthesize a series of ZIF8 nanocrystals, and their size effect as a function of surface area was also examined. The resultant ZIF8-4 nanocrystal exhibits a uniform hexagonal structure with a large surface area (2800 m² g⁻¹) and nanometre size while maintaining a yield as high as 78%. The SCs performance was explored by employing different aqueous electrolytes (0.5 M H₂SO₄ and 1 M KOH) in a three-electrode set-up. The SC performance using a basic electrolyte (1 M KOH) was superior owing to the high ionic mobility of K⁺. The optimized ZIF8-4 nanocrystal electrode showed a faradaic reaction with a highest capacitance of 1420 F g⁻¹ at 1 A g⁻¹ of current density compared to other as-prepared electrodes in the three-electrode assembly. In addition, the resultant ZIF8-4 was embedded into a symmetric supercapacitor (SSC), and the device offered 350 F g⁻¹ of capacitance with a maximum energy and power density of 43.7 W h kg⁻¹ and 900 W kg⁻¹ at 1 A g⁻¹ of current density, respectively. To determine the practical viewpoint and real-world applications of the ZIF8-4 SSC device, 7000 GCD cycles were performed at 10 A g⁻¹ of current density. Significantly, the device exhibited a cycling stability around 90% compared to the initial capacitance. Therefore, these findings provide a pathway for constructing large surface area ZIF8-based electrodes for high-value-added energy storage applications, particularly supercapacitors.