Facile preparation of transition metal oxide-metal composites with unique nanostructures and their electrochemical performance as energy storage material

In this work, a facile method for the preparation of a series of transition metal oxide-metal nanocomposites (MO-M) (such as NiO-Ni, Co3O4-Co, Fe3O4-Fe and MnO2-Mn) anchored on conductive nanowire arrays (such as TiC-C core-shell nanowires grown on a Ti alloy sheet) is reported for the first time. The obtained composites possess a unique three-dimensional nanostructure and high electronic conductivity. They have diverse applications as electrodes of energy storage devices. High capacitance and high rate capability have been demonstrated using the NiO-Ni@C@TiC nanocomposite as a model electrode, which shows a specific capacitance as high as 1845 F g(-1) at a charge-discharge current density of 5 A g(-1) and 811.1 F g(-1) after cycling 500 times at an extremely high charge-discharge rate of 100 A g(-1).