Bifunctional Supercapacitor and Photocatalytic Properties of Cuboid Ni-TMA MOF Synthesized Using a Facile Hydrothermal Approach

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) with a substantial surface area and configurable porosity have gained the interest of researchers in energy storage devices and environmental management. Our investigation efficaciously employs a cuboid-shaped nickel and trimesic acid metal–organic framework (Ni-TMA MOF) as a bifunctional high-performance supercapacitor electrode as well as an efficient photocatalyst. The Ni-cuboid-like MOF's structure provides more electroactive sites along with a shorter pathway for electron transfer and electrolyte diffusion, resulting in a high specific capacitance of 236 F g −1 at 1 A g −1 . The fabricated electrode exhibits particularly high capacitance retention, with over 98% retention even after 1000 cycles. The photocatalytic activity of the Ni-TMA MOF for the degradation of rhodamine 6G dye was investigated, which revealed that 90% of the dye was degraded in nearly 40 min, which follows the modified Freundlich process. The development of multifunctional materials to address emerging problems is of paramount importance, and this work ensures this possibility, with results showing improved energy storage and photocatalytic capability. Graphical Abstract