Crystalline iron oxides/hydroxides are generally preferred as supercapacitor electrode materials instead of the low-crystalline structure, despite the fact that an amorphous phase could have a comprehensive electrochemical performance owing to its structural disorder. Herein, we present a facile and scalable method for preparing amorphous FeOOH nanoflowers@multi-walled carbon nanotubes (FeOOH NFs@MWCNTs) composites. The resulting hybrid nanoflowers hold a distinctive heterostructure composed of a self-assembled amorphous FeOOH nanofilm on the MWCNTs surface. The low-crystalline 1FeOOH NFs@1MWCNTs composites at pH 8 exhibit a high comprehensive capacitive performance, which may be attributed to the advantageous structural features. In a -0.85 to 0 V vs Ag/AgCl potential window, the prepared hybrid electrode delivers a high specific capacitance of 345 F g-1 at a current density of 1 A g-1, good cycling stability (76.4% capacity retention over 5000 consecutive cycles), and outstanding rate performance (167 F g-1 at 11.4 A g-1). This work may trigger the possibilities of these nanomaterials for further application in supercapacitor electrodes, specifically low-crystalline oxide/hydroxide-based electrode materials.
Copyright © 2020 American Chemical Society.