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FeCo2S4/NH2-GQDs nanoflowers supported on Ni foam as novel binder-free electrode for high-performance supercapacitors

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Abstract

In this work, the ferric cobalt sulfide/aminated graphene quantum dots (FeCo2S4/NH2-GQDs) nanoflowers grown on Ni foam substrate have been successfully fabricated via a facile two-step hydrothermal method. The as-prepared FeCo2S4/NH2-GQDs nanoflowers can expose plenty of electroactive sites, provide fast charge transfer paths and buffer the drastic volume change during long-term charge–discharge cycles. Therefore, the FeCo2S4/NH2-GQDs nanoflowers exhibit excellent supercapacitive performance, including high specific capacitance, excellent rate capability and cycling stability. The specific capacitance of FeCo2S4/NH2-GQDs composite electrode reaches 2314.8 and 1802.5 F g−1 at the current density of 1 and 10 A g−1, respectively, while maintaining superior cycling stability with 95.1% capacitance retention after 5000 cycles. This study proves that NH2-GQDs are promising materials to enhance the electrochemical performance of bimetallic sulfides, providing a new insight for the design and fabrication of novel electrode materials for high-performance supercapacitors.

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the General Program of Chongqing Natural Science Foundation (cstc2019jcyj-msxmX0875, cstc2019jcyj-msxmX0411, cstc2019jcyj-msxmX0874), the Major Research Training Program of Chongqing University of Arts and Sciences (P2018CL08) and the Science and Technology Research Program of Chongqing Municipal Education Commission (KJQN201901319, KJQN202001323).

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  1. Research Institute for New Materials Technology, Chongqing University of Arts and Sciences, Chongqing, 402160, People’s Republic of China

    Yurong Liu, Shaoyu Niu & Rong Hu

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  1. Yurong Liu
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Liu, Y., Niu, S. & Hu, R. FeCo2S4/NH2-GQDs nanoflowers supported on Ni foam as novel binder-free electrode for high-performance supercapacitors. Appl. Phys. A 127, 417 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00339-021-04572-z

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