Formation of Ni(x)Co(3-x)S₄ hollow nanoprisms with enhanced pseudocapacitive properties

Le Yu; Lei Zhang; Hao Bin Wu; Xiong Wen David Lou

doi:10.1002/anie.201400226

Formation of Ni(x)Co(3-x)S₄ hollow nanoprisms with enhanced pseudocapacitive properties

Angew Chem Int Ed Engl. 2014 Apr 1;53(14):3711-4. doi: 10.1002/anie.201400226. Epub 2014 Mar 3.

Authors

Le Yu¹, Lei Zhang, Hao Bin Wu, Xiong Wen David Lou

Affiliation

¹ School of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Nanyang, Technological University, 62 Nanyang Drive, 637459 (Singapore) http://www.ntu.edu.sg/home/xwlou/

PMID: 24590835
DOI: 10.1002/anie.201400226

Abstract

Hollow nanostructures are of great interest for a wide variety of applications. Despite the great advances, synthesis of anisotropic hollow structures is still very challenging. In this work, we have developed a simple sacrificial template method to synthesize uniform Ni(x)Co(3-x)S4 hollow nanoprisms with tunable composition. Tetragonal nanoprisms of nickel-cobalt acetate hydroxide precursors with controllable Ni/Co molar ratios are first synthesized and used as the sacrificial templates. After a sulfidation process with thioacetamide (TAA) in ethanol, the solid precursor prisms can be transformed into the corresponding Ni(x)Co(3-x)S4 hollow nanoprisms with a well-defined hollow interior. The intriguing structural and compositional features are beneficial for electrochemical applications. Impressively, the resultant Ni(x)Co(3-x)S4 hollow prisms manifest a high specific capacitance with enhanced cycling stability, making them potential electrode materials for supercapacitors.

Keywords: cobalt; nanostructures; nickel; prisms; supercapacitors.