Clay-derived spindle-like layered ferric silicate for supercapacitor’s electrodes

Abstract

Cheap and eco-friendly electrochemical materials with high performance have been a critical point of their development. Here, we develop a simple method to prepare ferric silicate as supercapacitor electrodes with good electrochemical performances. Spindle-like ferric silicate (named s-FeSi) nanoparticles, which are composed of stacked nanosheets, are derived from magadiite (mag) through a one-pot hydrothermal method. The nanoparticles are uniform spindle-granule like “rice” with a size of ∼100 nm in length, ∼50 nm in width and composed of layers with a thickness of 3 nm. The layered structure inside nanoparticles significantly enhances the electrochemical performances of s-FeSi with the high specific capacitance of 533F·g−1 at 1 A·g−1 and excellent cycle stability of approximately 100 % retention after 10,000 cycles. This work provides a new route for synthesizing s-FeSi derived from mag for energy storage and opens the use of clay minerals.