3D Nanoflower-like and core-shell structured heterogeneous CuCo2O4@CuCo2S4@Ni(OH)2 electrode materials for high-performance asymmetric supercapacitor

The planning and synthesis of nanocomposite materials with reasonable core-shell heterostructure are of great significance in enhancing the energy density, structural stability as well as long cycle life of asymmetric supercapacitors. We have successfully prepared CuCo2O4@CuCo2S4@Ni(OH)2 core-shell 3D nanoflower array electrode material, resulting in outstanding performance of the assembled supercapacitor. Firstly, CuCo2O4 (CuC) nanowires are grown directly on nickel foam (NF) through hydrothermal and calcination reactions, followed by the formation of heterogeneous CuCo2O4@CuCo2S4 (CuC@CuS) nanoflowers via a hydrothermal reaction by using Na2S·9H2O as a vulcanizing agent. Finally, CuCo2O4@CuCo2S4@Ni(OH)2 electrode material is obtained via the electrodeposition method under a constant voltage. The prepared electrode material is composed of conductive CuC@CuS nanoflowers as the core and deposited Ni(OH)2 nanosheets as the shell, which effectively promotes ion diffusion, increases the reactive area and thereby enhances the electrochemical performance. Impressively, the composite electrode CuC@CuS@Ni(OH)2/NF material achieves an exciting high capacitance of 3753.6 F g−1 (1 A g−1), and the cycle stability is reduced by only 7.1% after 10000 cycle tests in the standard three-electrode system. Furthermore, the asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) device composed of activated carbon (AC) and CuC@CuS@Ni(OH)2 exhibits 729.75 W kg−1 power density under 59.11 Wh kg−1 energy density. The aforementioned findings demonstrate that the CuC@CuS@Ni(OH)2 nanoflower array is a very potential energy storage material.