A free-standing manganese cobalt sulfide@cobalt nickel layered double hydroxide core–shell heterostructure for an asymmetric supercapacitor

Abstract

Rational design of self-supported electrode materials is important to develop high-performance supercapacitors. Herein, a free-standing MnCo₂S₄@CoNi LDH (MCS@CN LDH) core–shell heterostructure is successfully prepared on Ni foam using the hydrothermal reaction and electrodeposition. In this architecture, the inner MnCo₂S₄ nanotube provides an ultra-high electrical conductivity and the CoNi LDH nanosheets can offer more electrochemical active sites for better faradaic reactions. Moreover, the core–shell heterostructure can also maintain the structural integrity during the processes of continuous charge/discharge. The MCS@CN LDH electrode displays a satisfactory specific capacitance of 1206 C g⁻¹ and excellent cycling performance with ∼92% retention after 10 000 cycles. In addition, an asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC), in which MCS@CN LDH and N-doped rGO are used as the positive electrode and the negative electrode, was assembled which exhibits an energy density of 48.8 W h kg⁻¹ with superior cycling stability, indicating the potential of this electrode in practical energy storage.