Magneto-Electrodeposition of 3D Cross-Linked NiCo-LDH for Flexible High-Performance Supercapacitors

Small Methods. 2022 Mar;6(3):e2101320. doi: 10.1002/smtd.202101320. Epub 2022 Jan 15.

Abstract

Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) with outstanding redox activity on flexible current collectors can serve as ideal cathode materials for flexible hybrid supercapacitors in wearable energy storage devices. Electrodeposition is a facile, time-saving, and economical technique to fabricate LDHs. The limited loading mass induced by insufficient mass transport and finite exposure of active sites, however, greatly hinders the improvement of areal capacity. Herein, magneto-electrodeposition (MED) under high magnetic fields up to 9 T is developed to fabricate NiCo-LDH on flexible carbon cloth (CC) as well as Ti3 C2 Tx functionalized CC. Owing to the magneto-hydrodynamic effect induced by magnetic-electric field coupling, the loading mass and exposure of active sites are significantly increased. Moreover, a 3D cross-linked nest-like microstructure is constructed. The MED-derived NiCo-LDH delivers an ultrahigh areal capacity of 3.12 C cm-2 at 1 mA cm-2 and as-fabricated flexible hybrid supercapacitors show an excellent energy density with an outstanding cycling stability. This work provides a novel route to improve electrochemical performances of layered materials through MED technique.

Keywords: NiCo-LDH; magneto-electrodeposition; magneto-hydrodynamic effect; supercapacitors.