Surfactant Dependence of Nanostructured NiCo₂S₄ Films on Ni Foam for Superior Electrochemical Performance

Nanostructured NiCo 2 S 4 films on Ni foams were successfully synthesized through a facile method, involving hydrothermal growth of NiCo-precursor and subsequent sulfidation process of NiCo 2 S 4 . The influence of different surfactants were investigated, including morphology, phase structure and electrochemical performance of NiCo 2 S 4 electrodes. With the addition of surfactants during the hydrothermal processes, the nanostructured NiCo 2 S 4 self-organized and agglomerated into nanosheets, showing outstanding influence on the morphology by the surfactants. Among these electrodes, the NiCo 2 S 4 electrode modified with SDS exhibited an optimal capacitance of 2893 F/g at 0.5 A/g, a superior rate capability of 1890.6 F/g even at 10 A/g, and good cycling stability of 96.1% over 1000 cycles. These results indicate that nanosheet NiCo 2 S 4 would be promising electrode materials for supercapacitor applications.