Porous NiCo2O4/C nanofibers replicated by cotton template as high-rate electrode materials for supercapacitors

Nanostructured binary transition oxides have been extensively developed as high-performance electrode materials for supercapacitors. The rational design of microstructure plays a decisive role of the electrochemical performance of fabricated electrode materials such as high specific surface area (SSA), meso-porous, short ion transferring path and high electrical and ion conductivity. Besides, the low manufacture cost is necessary for the mass production. In this paper, porous NiCo 2 O 4 /C nanofibers are replicated with cotton as template via hydrothermal route followed by annealing in air. As the electrode of supercapacitor, the porous NiCo 2 O 4 /C nanofibers show a high specific capacitance of 1029 F g −1 at a current density of 1 A g −1 . Remarkably, such electrode material exhibits excellent rate capability. Even at a current density as high as 60 A g −1 , its specific capacitance still maintains 771 F g −1 . This high rate performance can be attributed to the porous structure, facilitating the ion transport in the electrode material. Porous NiCo 2 O 4 /C nanofibers are replicated with cotton as template via hydrothermal route. The as-prepared products are directly evaluated as electrode materials for supercapacitors. The electrode material exhibits high specific capacitance and outstanding rate capability, which can be accounted for the novel porous nanostructure.