Cobalt–carbon derived from zeolitic imidazolate framework on Ni foam as high-performance supercapacitor electrode material

•Co(MeIM)2 (MeIM = 2-methy-limidazole) was chosen as precursor to synthesize the cobalt/carbon composites.•Co(MeIM)2 (MeIM = 2-methy-limidazole) grew on the Ni foam directly and intimately.•The obtained cobalt nanoparticles are 2–3 nm in size and anchored on carbon homogeneously.•The specific capacitance of the composites is up to 512 F g−1 at current density of 1 A g−1.

ZIF-67 (Co(MeIM)2, MeIM = 2-methylimidazole) was selected as a precursor to synthesize the metallic cobalt/carbon composites on Ni foam directly and intimately. The results show that ZIF-67 forms a uniform membrane and densely covers the Ni foam substrate. Besides, the cobalt/carbon composites obtained are composed of cobalt nanoparticles with a diameter up to around 2.6 nm, which are anchored on carbon homogeneously. The specific capacitance of the composites material is up to 512 F g−1 at a current density of 1 A g−1 in 1.0 M KOH electrolyte. Furthermore, the specific capacitance loss is ∼46.4% with increase at the current density from 1 to 20 A g−1. More significantly, the specific capacitance retention rate is 87.5% at a current density of 5 A g−1 after 1000 cycles. These results suggest that the electrochemical performance can be greatly enhanced by the well-controlled size and distribution of the cobalt nanoparticles, which is mainly attributed to the unique structure and composition of ZIF-67.

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