Simplified Synthesis of 3D Flexible Reduced Graphene Oxide-Wrapped NiCo2O4 Nanowires for High-Performance Supercapacitor

We introduced a simple method to construct novel three-dimensional (3D) flexible hierarchical nanocomposites by combining (1D) NiCo2O4 nanowires with 2D reduced graphene oxide (rGO) sheets. The hierarchical nanocomposite structure of rGO-wrapped NiCo2O4 (rGO-NiCo2O4) was confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectra, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results indicated that NiCo2O4 nanowires were successfully wrapped in rGO and the morphology of the rGO-NiCo2O4 showed a three-dimensional porous structure with NiCo2O4 being homogeneously distributed in the rGO. Given their apparent advantages, these two different nanostructures were evaluated as electrodes for high-performance supercapacitors. These electrodes exhibited a high capacitance of 1824.8 F.g(-1) at a current density of 0.5 A.g(-1), and an excellent cycling performance extending to 5000 cycles at a high current density of 4 A.g(-1). Our results clearly demonstrate that rGO sheets on NiCo2O4 nanowires can substantially improve the capacitive performance of materials and ultimately increase the cycling stability of supercapacitors. The hierarchical binary nanocomposites show excellent electrochemical properties for energy storage applications, evidencing their potential application as supercapacitors.