Interfacially coupled thin sheet-like NiO/NiMoO4 nanocomposites synthesized by a simple reflux method for excellent electrochemical performance

Abstract

Herein, hierarchical sheet-like assemblies of interfacially coupled NiO/NiMoO₄ (NNMO) nanocomposites are prepared by a simple and cost-effective one-step aqueous reflux method followed by post-thermal treatment. The reaction time is optimized for a high precursor yield and the homogeneity of the final product. The fabricated electrodes with varying amounts of active material and conducting carbon show better electrochemical activity for 50 : 50 weight ratio combinations as extrinsic pseudocapacitors. The optimized NNMO-3 electrode (obtained from the Ni–Mo hydroxide precursor during the 10 h reaction time) exhibits superior performance among all the tested nanocomposite electrodes like a high specific capacity of 649.8 C g⁻¹ (1624.5 F g⁻¹) and 73.5% retention of capacity after 2200 cycles at a specific current of 1.0 A g⁻¹ along with satisfactory rate capability (42.5% retention after a ten-times increment in specific current), which may be attributed to the abundant electroactive sites due to the high bulk as well as electrochemically active surface area, mesoporous structure, and synergistic coupling between the optimum compositions of NiO and NiMoO₄ within the sheet-like networks. Moreover, an aqueous asymmetric supercapacitor is assembled by employing NNMO-3 and activated carbon as the positive and negative electrodes, respectively, and exhibits a maximum specific capacity of 216.2 C g⁻¹ (144.1 F g⁻¹), specific energy of 45.0 W h kg⁻¹ at a specific power of 750.0 W kg⁻¹, promising rate capability of 58.5%, and good cycling stability with 86.2% capacitive retention after 2500 charge–discharge cycles. Based on the overall performance, we can infer that the NNMO-3 nanocomposite may be a promising electrode material for high-performance supercapacitor applications.