MOF-Derived Ni₅P₄ Nanoparticles Based on the Microemulsion Strategy for Supercapacitors and Water Splitting

With the rapid advancement of energy storage and conversion systems (ESCSs), renewable energy can achieve a smooth and continuous output capacity. Nevertheless, commercial precious metal-based multifunctional ESCSs materials are plagued by issues like scarcity and high production costs. This study adopted microemulsion and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) strategies to fabricate single crystal Ni₅P₄ nanoparticles successfully. Due to its excellent crystal integrity and high electrical conductivity, single crystal Ni₅P₄ offers abundant active sites for redox reactions. Additionally, it allows electrons and ions to move more efficiently and freely, making it a highly promising multifunctional material for ESCSs. For supercapacitors (SCs), the prepared Ni₅P₄-10 electrode possesses a battery-like behavior with a high specific capacity of 1643.13 F g^-1@0.5 A g^-1. The corresponding assembled Ni₅P₄-10//AC hybrid SCs (HSCs) exhibit a maximum energy density of 37.78 Wh kg^-1 at a power density of 400 W kg^-1. Furthermore, Ni₅P₄-10 displays low overpotentials of 150 mV@HER and 250 mV@OER at 10 mA cm^-2 when it serves as an electrocatalyst. This study offers a novel perspective for the design of MOF-derived multifunctional ESCSs materials.