Controllable synthesis of ultrathin nickel oxide sheets on carbon cloth for high-performance supercapacitors

Abstract

A small specific surface area and poor conductivity often limit the supercapacitor performance of metal oxide materials. In this work, we fabricated a nanocomposite based on NiO nanosheets with controllable size and thickness on carbon cloth (CC) by a cost-effective and scalable chemical precipitation method. The ultrathin nanosheets are coated on the CC with a diameter of 400 nm, showing a large specific surface area. The sample as a supercapacitor electrode displays a high specific capacitance (600.3 F g⁻¹ at 1 A g⁻¹), great rate capability and excellent long-term cycling life (98.1% after 3000 cycles). These great performances are attributed to the free-standing structure of the NiO nanosheets on the CC and the intimate contact of the NiO and CC. Also, an all-solid-supercapacitor was assembled to prove the possible prospects of the materials for flexible devices.