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NiS nanoparticles (NPs) with excellent electrochemical capacitance have attracted considerable attention as cost-effective energy-storage materials for supercapacitors in recent years. Preventing the aggregation and increasing the conductivity of NiS NPs are key to fully realizing their excellent electrochemical properties. In this work, NiS/N-doped carbon fiber aerogel (N-CFA) nanocomposites were obtained easily through the combination of polymerization, carbonization, and a one-step solvothermal reaction. N-CFA derived from polydopamine (PDA)-coated cotton wool was used as a template for the construction of hierarchical NiS/N-CFA nanocomposites, in which NiS NPs are uniformly immobilized on the surface of N-CFA. In this nanostructured system, N-CFA containing abundant nanofibers not only provides active regions for the growth of NiS NPs to prevent their aggregation, but also offers short pathways for the transport of electrons and ions. The electrochemical properties of the obtained NiS/N-CFA nanocomposites were investigated by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge–discharge, and alternating current impedance measurements. The optimized NiS/N-CFA nanocomposite exhibits a high specific capacitance of 1, 612.5 F·g-1 at a charge/discharge current density of 1 A·g-1 and excellent rate capacitance retention of 66.7% at 20 A·g-1. The excellent electrochemical properties of NiS/N-CFA nanocomposites make these materials promising electrode materials for supercapacitors.


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Immobilization of NiS nanoparticles on N-doped carbon fiber aerogels as advanced electrode materials for supercapacitors

Show Author's information Youfang Zhang1Lizeng Zuo1Longsheng Zhang1Jiajie Yan1Hengyi Lu1Wei Fan2( )Tianxi Liu1,2( )
State Key Laboratory of Molecular Engineering of PolymersDepartment of Macromolecular ScienceFudan University220 Handan RoadShanghai200433China
State Key Laboratory for Modification of Chemical Fibers and Polymer MaterialsCollege of Materials Science and EngineeringDonghua University2999 North Renmin RoadShanghai201620China

Abstract

NiS nanoparticles (NPs) with excellent electrochemical capacitance have attracted considerable attention as cost-effective energy-storage materials for supercapacitors in recent years. Preventing the aggregation and increasing the conductivity of NiS NPs are key to fully realizing their excellent electrochemical properties. In this work, NiS/N-doped carbon fiber aerogel (N-CFA) nanocomposites were obtained easily through the combination of polymerization, carbonization, and a one-step solvothermal reaction. N-CFA derived from polydopamine (PDA)-coated cotton wool was used as a template for the construction of hierarchical NiS/N-CFA nanocomposites, in which NiS NPs are uniformly immobilized on the surface of N-CFA. In this nanostructured system, N-CFA containing abundant nanofibers not only provides active regions for the growth of NiS NPs to prevent their aggregation, but also offers short pathways for the transport of electrons and ions. The electrochemical properties of the obtained NiS/N-CFA nanocomposites were investigated by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge–discharge, and alternating current impedance measurements. The optimized NiS/N-CFA nanocomposite exhibits a high specific capacitance of 1, 612.5 F·g-1 at a charge/discharge current density of 1 A·g-1 and excellent rate capacitance retention of 66.7% at 20 A·g-1. The excellent electrochemical properties of NiS/N-CFA nanocomposites make these materials promising electrode materials for supercapacitors.

Keywords: N-doping, supercapacitors, NiS, cotton wool, carbon fiber aerogels

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Publication history
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Acknowledgements

Publication history

Received: 04 April 2016
Revised: 25 May 2016
Accepted: 27 May 2016
Published: 20 July 2016
Issue date: September 2016

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© Tsinghua University Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2016

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful for the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51125011 and 51433001).

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