Lamellar-crossing-structured Ni(OH)2/CNTs/Ni(OH)2 nanocomposite for electrochemical supercapacitor materials

Abstract Ni(OH) 2 /CNTs/Ni(OH) 2 lamellar-crossing-nanostructure with a single lamellar spacing of ∼5 nm was effectively constructed through two-phase-interface reaction process followed by the CNTs crossed among the lamellar-nanostructured Ni(OH) 2 . The resultant nanocomposite can offer large active surface areas and short diffusion paths for electrons and ions, and is investigated as a potential pseudocapacitor electrode material for electrochemical energy storage applications. Electrochemical data demonstrate that the as-prepared nanocomposite exhibits a high specific capacitance of ∼1600 F g −1 at the scan rate of 1 mV s −1 in 6 M KOH solution at normal pressure and temperature, which is great higher than Ni(OH) 2 (∼1200 F g −1 ). Furthermore, Ni(OH) 2 /CNTs/Ni(OH) 2 nanocomposite shows a higher energy density (∼125 Wh kg −1 , 2 A g −1 ) and has a slightly decrease of 5% in specific capacitance after 1000 continuous charge/discharge cycles.