Multishell hierarchical GCNF/PANI/NiCo-LDH nanofibers film for high-performance supercapacitors

In the domain of supercapacitor investigation, nickel cobalt layered double hydroxides (NiCo-LDH), regarded as a promising battery material, have garnered significant attention. However, the inherent drawbacks of low conductivity and pronounced agglomeration in single-component NiCo-LDH hinder the achievement of satisfactory overall performance. Thus, a key challenge remains in the rational design of multi-component composite materials incorporating NiCo-LDH, carbon materials, and conductive polymers to enhance their electrochemical properties. In this study, we successfully fabricated multishell hierarchical fiber films of GCNF/PANI/NiCo-LDH through simple wet-chemical approach. This novel architecture features graphene-coated electrospun carbon nanofibers (GCNF) serving as a self-supporting carbon framework, polyaniline (PANI) acting as the conductive layer, and NiCo-LDH contributing a high faraday capacity. Utilizing the enhanced cooperative effects between the various components, the enhanced GCNF/PANI/NiCo-LDH electrode exhibits remarkable specific capacity (347.1 mAh g-1, 2499 F g-1 at 1 A g-1) alongside exceptional rate performance (maintaining 56.5 % capacity at 20 A g-1). Moreover, when an asymmetric supercapacitor (ACS) is constructed using active carbon (AC) as the cathode and GCNF/PANI/NiCo-LDH as the anode, it demonstrates remarkable energy storage capabilities. Specifically, it achieves an impressive energy density of 43.8 Wh kg-1, along with a high power density of 937.5 W kg-1. Additionally, it exhibits exceptional durability, with a capacitance retention of 88.8 % even after 2000 cycles. This study presents a novel approach for designing high-performance core-triple-shelled hierarchical materials in the field of energy storage devices. © 2024