Facile fabrication of MWCNT-doped NiCoAl-layered double hydroxide nanosheets with enhanced electrochemical performances

Abstract

Ternary-component NiCoAl-layered double hydroxide nanosheets (NiCoAl-LDH) and multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT) nanohybrids (NiCoAl-LDH–MWCNT) have been successfully fabricated by a facile yet simple urea precipitation method. The MWCNTs are well incorporated into the network of NiCoAl-LDH nanosheets to form homogeneous nanohybrid materials. The electrochemical performances of nanohybrids as pseudocapacitor electrode materials were measured and investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic charge and discharge techniques. It was found that the electrochemical performances of NiCoAl-LDH nanosheets are enhanced by the incorporation of MWCNTs into the sheet-shaped NiCoAl-LDH network. The specific capacitance of NiCoAl-LDH–MWCNT nanohybrids reaches 1035 F g⁻¹ at a current density of 1 A g⁻¹, and keeps a value of 597 F g⁻¹ with a 57.7% capacitance retention rate even at a current density of 10 A g⁻¹, which increases by 33.3% in comparison to that of the pristine NiCoAl-LDH nanosheets.