Photo-assisted charging of heterostructured NiCo2S4@NiCo-LDH composite electrode with remarkable photoelectronic memory effect for high-performance asymmetric supercapacitor

Abstract

Rational establishment of photo-assisted supercapacitor represents a viable strategy for achieving solar energy conversion and storage. In this study, NiCo2S4@NiCo-LDH (NCS@NC-LDH) composite electrode was effectively synthesized for a highly efficient asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC). Specific capacitance of NCS@NC-LDH under light condition (3286.25 F g−1 at 1 A g−1) demonstrated notable improvement in contrast to that under dark condition (2171.5 F g−1 at 1 A g−1). Meanwhile, NCS@NC-LDH displayed strong photoelectronic memory, as a merely 3 % specific capacitance decreased when discharged under dark compared to that of continuous illumination. Additionally, the assembled aqueous ASC (NCS@NC-LDH//AC) exhibited substantial energy density (83.2 Wh kg−1 at 800 W kg−1) under light condition. Density functional theory (DFT) calculation further demonstrated that the formed matched band facilitated efficient generation-transfer of photoinduced electrons/holes and thus improved the energy storage behavior. We anticipated that this work may offer new perspectives on developing multi-component composite electrodes tailored for high-performance solar-driven electrochemical energy storage.