Hierarchical NiCo@NiOOH@CoMoO4 Core-Shell Heterostructure on Carbon Cloth for High-Performance Asymmetric Supercapacitors

The fabrication of low-cost, effective, and highly integrated nanostructured materials through simple and reproducible methods for high-energy-density supercapacitors is highly desirable. Herein, an activated carbon cloth (ACC) is designed as the functional scaffold for supercapacitors and treated hydrothermally to deposit NiCo nanoneedles working as internal core, followed by a dip-dry coating of NiOOH nanoflakes core-shell and uniform hydrothermal deposition of CoMoO4 nanosheets serving as an external shell. The structured core-shell heterostructure ACC@NiCo@NiOOH@CoMoO4 electrode resulted in exceptional specific areal capacitance of 2920 mF cm(-2) and exceptional cycling stability for 10 000 cycles. Moreover, the fabricated electrode is developed into an asymmetric supercapacitor which demonstrates excellent areal capacitance, energy density, and power density within the broad potential window of 1.7 V with a cycling life of 92.4% after 10 000 charge-discharge cycles, which reflects excellent cycle life. The distinctive core-shell structure, highly conductive substrate, and synergetic effect of coated material results in more electrochemical active sites and flanges for effective electrons and ion transportation. This unique technique provides a new perspective for cost-efficient supercapacitor applications.

Automated summary

The fabrication of low-cost, effective, and highly integrated nanostructured materials for high-energy-density supercapacitors is highly desired. In this study, an activated carbon cloth (ACC) is designed as the functional scaffold for supercapacitors and modified with various nanomaterials. The resulting structured core-shell heterostructure ACC@NiCo@NiOOH@CoMoO4 electrode exhibits exceptional specific areal capacitance and cycling stability. Moreover, this electrode is developed into an asymmetric supercapacitor, demonstrating excellent areal capacitance, energy density, and power density with a high cycling life.