Fabrication of CNTs supported binary nanocomposite with multiple strategies to boost electrochemical activities

Electroactive materials with higher surface area, porous structure, higher conductivity, and self-supported design are considered promising candidates for electrochemical applications. The fabrication of an electrode material with a unique design having all the features mentioned above is a major challenge for electrochemical researchers. In this work, pristine CoS2 nanoparticles and CoS2/CNTs nanocomposite have been prepared and decorated directly on nickel foam (NF) using a two-step approach: hydrothermal and post-annealing, for energy storage applications. The CoS2/CNTs@NF electrode shows superior performance as it has a specific capacity (C-sp) of 499.8 C g(-1) @ 1 A g(-1) and excellent cyclic stability of 90.8% after 60 00 GCD cycles @ 12 A g(-1). The CNTs-supported CoS2 sample displays a minimum capacitance loss of 13.5% by increasing the applied current density from 1 to 12 A g(-1), demonstrating its excellent rate-capability. Furthermore, the EIS results show that the value of the charge transfer resistance (R-CT) and the mass transfer resistance for CoS2 decreases after its nanocomposite formation with conductive CNTs. The exceptional electrochemical activity of the CoS2 /CNTs@NF electrode has been attributed to the synergistic effect of its self-standing design, larger specific surface area, porous-nanostructure, and hybrid composition. The present study provides a new way of designing the electrode material with integrated electrochemical features. (C) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.