Light enhanced energy storage ability through a hybrid plasmonic Ag nanowire decorated hydroxide “skin structure”

By decorating nickel copper hydroxide (NCH) with Ag nanowires (Ag NWs), a 1.7 fold enhancement in areal capacitance (5.4 F cm^-2) and a 1.8 fold increment in gravimetric capacitance (3182 F g^-1) under light illumination were achieved. The improved supercapacitor performances of the composites under visible-light illumination were demonstrated and a reasonable explanation for this newly-discovered phenomenon was proposed. The plasmonic effect of Ag NWs was demonstrated by hot-electron generation. The decorated Ag NWs served as a stimulus for redox reactions. This research provides a tantalizing opportunity for enhancing the supercapacitor performance by exploiting surface plasmon metals. The finding from this study will be informative for the future design of supercapacitor electrodes.