NiCo2S4/Ni–Co layered double hydroxide nanocomposite prepared by a vapor-phase hydrothermal method for electrochemical capacitor application

Abstract

Abstract In this work, NiCo 2 S 4 /Ni–Co layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanocomposites were prepared by using Ni–Co LDH nanosheets as precursor through a vapor-phase hydrothermal method. The NiCo 2 S 4 /Ni–Co LDH nanocomposites have a hierarchical structure in which interconnected NiCo 2 S 4 nanosheets with smaller sizes are loaded on Ni–Co LDH nanosheets. Electrochemical performances of the NiCo 2 S 4 /Ni–Co LDH nanocomposites were measured by cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge–discharge techniques. The NiCo 2 S 4 /Ni–Co LDH electrode achieved a capacity of 1765 F g −1 at 1 A g −1 and a capacity of 940 F g −1 at 10 A g −1 . Control experiments showed that the capacities of the NiCo 2 S 4 /Ni–Co LDH are higher than Ni–Co LDH and NiCo 2 S 4 nanosheets. The better electrochemical performances of the NiCo 2 S 4 /Ni–Co LDH electrode can be attributed to the unique hierarchical structure which was formed during the vapor-phase hydrothermal process.