Hierarchical NiCo-layered double hydroxide nanoscroll@PANI nanocomposite for high performance battery-type supercapacitor

In this paper, a facile strategy is developed to fabricate hierarchical NiCo layered double hydroxide (NiCo-LDH) and polyaniline (PANI) composite. A PANI nanolayer firstly uniformly covers the surface of carbon cloth (CC) by electrodeposition, followed by the growth of NiCo-LDH nanoscrolls via a hydrothermal process. The introduction of the PANI nanolayer plays a critical role in realizing the growth of NiCo-LDH nanoscroll, which possesses huge specific surface area and better electrochemical performance. The NiCo-LDH@PANI@CC nanocomposite delivers an excellent specific capacitance of 1835 F g−1 (901C g−1) at 1 A g−1, outstanding rate capability with a capacitance retention of 81% from 1 A g−1 to 10 A g−1 and good cycling ability with a capacitance retention of 78% after 3000 cycles. In addition, the asymmetric supercapacitor assembled by the NiCo-LDH@PANI@CC and active carbon supplies a good energy density of 26.5 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 728.2 W kg−1 and excellent cycling stability with a capacitance retention of 78% after 5000 cycles. LDH nanoscroll, with a high specific surface area and extremely abundant mesopores, provides ample paths for ion and electron transportation, which endows the electrode with outstanding specific capacitance and rate capability. The NiCo-LDH nanoscroll@polyaniline@CC composite exhibits a high specific capacitance of 1835F g−1 and excellent rate capability with a capacitance retention of 81.1% at 10 A g−1. [Display omitted]