In situ synthesis of integrated dodecahedron NiO/NiCo2O4 coupled with N-doped porous hollow carbon capsule for high-performance supercapacitors

Abstract

NiO and NiCo2O4 exhibit excellent synergistic effects and broad application prospects in electrochemical applications. However, the apparent interfacial instability between NiO and NiCo2O4 limits ion transport kinetics, charge/ion transfer, and electrochemical stability. In response, we developed and designed an integrated dodecahedron NiO/NiCo2O4 by a facile in-situ calcination method. Moreover, by utilizing the porous hollow structure of nitrogen-doped carbon capsules (N-Cc) as a conductive network, the N-Ccx@NiO/NiCo2O4 heterostructures with stable interface structure, excellent electrolyte adsorption, and electron transfer pathways were carefully designed. The N-Cc1.0@NiO/NiCo2O4 heterostructures are found to deliver an outstanding specific capacitance of 658.8 F g−1, and a high energy density of 101.40 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 775.03 W kg−1, along with capacitance retention of more than 93.5% after 8000 cycles. Based on the DFT calculations and electrochemical experimental results, this work provides an effective in situ route for the construction of high-performance metal oxide heterostructure electrode materials for new energy storage devices.