NiCoO2 and polypyrrole decorated three-dimensional carbon nanofiber network with coaxial cable-like structure for high-performance supercapacitors

S H Gong; B Q Wang; Y Xue; Q S Sun; J Wang; J Kuai; F Liu; J P Cheng

doi:10.1016/j.jcis.2022.07.134

NiCoO₂ and polypyrrole decorated three-dimensional carbon nanofiber network with coaxial cable-like structure for high-performance supercapacitors

J Colloid Interface Sci. 2022 Dec 15;628(Pt A):343-355. doi: 10.1016/j.jcis.2022.07.134. Epub 2022 Jul 25.

Authors

S H Gong¹, B Q Wang¹, Y Xue², Q S Sun¹, J Wang³, J Kuai¹, F Liu¹, J P Cheng⁴

Affiliations

¹ State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Advanced Materials and Applications for Batteries of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China.
² State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer Materials, College of Materials Science and Engineering, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, China.
³ School of Materials and Energy, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China.
⁴ State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Key Laboratory of Advanced Materials and Applications for Batteries of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310027, China. Electronic address: chengjp@zju.edu.cn.

PMID: 35932671
DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2022.07.134

Abstract

Designing optimized nano-sized architecture is a promising approach to prepare high-performance electrode materials for supercapacitors. In this work, a hierarchical multi-shelled structure has been successfully synthesized, which consists of a 3D carbon nanofiber network as a supporting scaffold prepared by carbonization of aramid nanofiber aerogel, an intermediate polypyrrole (PPy) bonding layer and a NiCoO₂ outer shell, just like a coaxial cable in the structure. The intermediate PPy layer facilitates the uniform deposition of NiCoO₂ by providing more anchor sites, and enhances the electrical contact between carbon nanofiber network and NiCoO₂ shell due to its high conductivity and good compatibility with two different substances. The synergistic effect of the hierarchical configuration endows the electrode material with a high specific capacitance of 1037 F g^-1at 1 A g^-1and excellent cycling stability (∼89% of initial capacitance after 7000 cycles). Moreover, an asymmetric supercapacitor based on the composite and activated carbon achieves a high energy density of 37.7 Wh kg^-1 at a power density of 465 W kg^-1 in 1.65 V. This work may provide a feasible strategy to design high-performance hybrid electrodes for energy storage devices.

Keywords: 3D carbon nanofiber network; Aramid nanofibers; Bonding layer; NiCoO(2); Supercapacitors.