High-Performance Supercapacitors Using Hierarchical And Sulfur-Doped Trimetallic NiCo/NiMn Layered Double Hydroxides

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Energy Storage

Background:

• Supercapacitors offer high power density and long cycle life but suffer from low energy density.
• Developing advanced electrode materials is crucial for enhancing supercapacitor performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and synthesize a high-performance capacitive electrode for supercapacitors.
• To investigate the potential of a 3D heterostructure material for improved energy and power densities.

Main Methods:

• A flexible carbon cloth (CC) substrate was used for electrode fabrication.
• Hydrothermal reaction and ion exchange sulfuration were employed to create sulfur-doped NiMn-layered double hydroxide (LDH) nanosheets (NMLS) and sulfur-doped NiCo-LDH nanowires (NCLS).
• An asymmetric supercapacitor was assembled using the fabricated electrode and a sulfurized activated carbon electrode.

Main Results:

• The NMLS@NCLS/CC electrode exhibited a gravimetric capacity of 555.2 C g⁻¹ at 1 A g⁻¹.
• The electrode maintained a 75.1% capacity retention at a high current density of 20 A g⁻¹.
• The assembled asymmetric supercapacitor achieved a maximum energy density of 24.2 Wh kg⁻¹ and a maximum power density of 16000 W kg⁻¹.

Conclusions:

• A facile strategy for designing hierarchical LDH materials was demonstrated.
• The developed hierarchical LDH electrode material shows significant potential for advanced energy storage applications.
• The NMLS@NCLS/CC electrode offers a promising solution for high-performance supercapacitors.