Hydrothermal synthesis of Ni, Co hydroxide nanosheet array on vertically suspended carbon cloth for flexible high-performance supercapacitors

Abstract

The investigation of Ni(OH)2 electrode materials has been a prominent issue in the field of electrochemical energy. The slow ion diffusion kinetics and inherent low electronic conductivity of Ni(OH)2 restrict its electrochemical performance and application in practice. In this work, mixed-phase nickel-cobalt layered double hydroxide (NiCoLDH) array structures are successfully grown directly on vertically suspended carbon cloth (CC). In contrast to the traditional hydrothermal method, the vertically suspended carbon cloth affordes adequate reaction sites to ensure optimum array structure growth. This unique structure realizes a large mass loading of the active material. Meanwhile, the introduction of flexible electrode substrate carbon cloth effectively enhances the mechanical properties of the electrode. Due to the powerful electrochemistry kinetics, NiCoLDH/CC-1.5 exhibites a great capacitive and excellent rate performance of 1516.5 F g−1 at 1 A g−1 and 1073.75 F g−1 even at 20 A g−1. The assembled asymmetric supercapacitor demonstrates a favorable cycling stability (capacitance retention of 90.11 % after 10,000 cycles at 5 A g−1).