A novel strategy to synthesize NiCo layered double hydroxide nanotube from metal organic framework composite for high-performance supercapacitor

Designing porous materials with various nanoscales and dimensionalities is very significant for surface/interfacial interaction and mass transport, and are expected to improve the performance of materials. Herein, we first report the preparation of porous NiCo layered double hydroxide (NiCo LDH) nanotube by utilizing a metal organic framework (MOF) and MoO3 composite as a precursor. The NiCo LDH nanotube is composed of two-dimension (2D) nanosheet and a high specific surface area of 107 m2 g−1 is achieved. The unique structure of nanotube and high specific surface area can greatly improve the electrical conductivity and electroactive surface area of the material and also shorten the ion transport path, resulting in enhancement of electrochemical performance. When used as electrode material for supercapacitors, the NiCo LDH nanotube shows a high specific capacitance of 1386 F g−1 at a current density of 1 A g−1. Moreover, the asymmetric supercapacitor assembled by active carbon and the NiCo LDH nanotube shows a high capacitance of 94.3 F g−1 at 0.5 A g−1, an energy density of 118 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 108 W kg−1 and excellent stability without any loss in capacitance even after 10000 charge-discharge cycles, indicating that the NiCo LDH nanotube is a very promising supercapacitor electrode material.