Co(OH)2@FeCo2O4 as electrode material for high performance faradaic supercapacitor application

Abstract Co(OH) 2 @FeCo 2 O 4 nanocomposite was successfully synthesized via a facile one-step hydrothermal reaction without thermal treatment. The structure and chemical composition of as-synthesized Co(OH) 2 @FeCo 2 O 4 was characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), respectively. The results show the FeCo 2 O 4 nanosheets are covered with the Co(OH) 2 nanoparticles and the BET show the nanocomposite possess the mesoporous structure with specific surface area and total pore volume are 93.071 m 2  g −1 and 0.37 cm 3  g −1 , respectively. In addition, the electrochemical performances were investigated in a three-electrode system to evaluate the material. The as-synthesized Co(OH) 2 @FeCo 2 O 4 nanocomposite exhibits a high specific capacitance of 1173.43 F g −1 at 1 A g −1 and remarkable cycling stability with 95.4% capacitance retention after 5000 cycles. The results show the higher capacitance and longer cycle performance, compared with the Co(OH) 2 and FeCo 2 O 4 , respectively. This remarkable electrochemical performances were mainly due to mesoporous structure and the synergistic effect of Co(OH) 2 and FeCo 2 O 4 . It means that this nanostructure Co(OH) 2 @FeCo 2 O 4 synthesized by this simple and cost-effective method would have more hopeful prospects in energy storage applications.