Intelligently constructing polyaniline/Nickel hydroxide core-shell nanoflowers as anode for flexible electrode-enhanced lithium/sodium ion batteries

Abstract The intelligent design of advanced anode materials plays a pivotal role in energy storage for lithium-ion (LIBs) and sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), and offering potential for broadening their practical applications through the development of flexible electrodes. In this study, Nickel hydroxide nanoflowers grown on Ni foam (Ni(OH)2 NFs/NF) was synthesized by hydrothermal method. Subsequently nickel hydroxide nanoflowers-polyaniline (Ni(OH)2 NFs/PANI) was synthesized by electrodeposition method. Ni(OH)2 NFs/NF and Ni(OH)2 NFs/PANI can be straightforwardly utilized as pliable electrodes. For the first discharge capacity, Ni(OH)2 NFs/PANI electrode delivers higher capacity (1608.1 mAh g−1) than Ni(OH)2 NFs/NF (1464.1 mAh g−1) for LIBs. For the first discharge capacity, Ni(OH)2 NFs/PANI electrode delivers more superior capacity (473.4 mAh g−1) than Ni(OH)2 NFs/NF (406.6 mAh g−1) for SIBs. Ni(OH)2 NFs/PANI electrode demonstrated enhanced rate performance and cycling stability in comparison to Ni(OH)2 NFs/NF electrode.