Capacitive performance of electrochemically deposited Co/Ni oxides/hydroxides on polythiophene-coated carbon-cloth

Abstract Cobalt, nickel, and their mixed hydroxides were electrochemically deposited on polythiophene-coated carbon-cloth substrate to develop new pseudo-capacitive electrodes for energy storage devices. Thiophene was electro-polymerized on carbon-cloth by the potentiodynamic method in acetonitrile containing 1-butyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ionic-liquid as supporting electrolyte. The scanning-electron-microscopy images imply that flower-like Co(OH) 2 microstructures deposited on bamboo-like polythiophene coatings on carbon-fibers but they are covered by net curtain like thin Ni(OH) 2 layer. The Co-Ni layered-double-hydroxide deposited from their equimolar sulfate solutions is composed of large aggregates. The electron-dispersive-spectrum exhibits that Co/Ni ratio equals unity in the layered-double-hydroxide. The capacitances of Co, Ni, and Co-Ni hydroxide-coated PTh electrodes are 100, 569, and 221 F/g at 5 mA/cm 2 in 1 M KOH solution, respectively. Their corresponding oxides obtained by calcination at 450 °C in de-aerated medium possess higher capacitance up to 911, 643, and 696 F/g at 2 A/cm 2 . The shape of cyclic-voltammetry and galvanostatic-charge-discharge curves, as well as the Nyquist plots derived from electrochemical-impedance-spectroscopy measurements, reveal that hydroxide coatings on the polythiophene-coated carbon-cloth are more promising electrode materials for supercapacitor applications. The mixed hydroxide-coated electrode shows good cyclic stability of 100% after 400 cycles at 5 mA/cm 2 .