Electrochemical/chemical growth of porous (Ni,Co,Cu)(OH)2 as an electrode material: Ternary Ni-Co-Cu nanocrystalline films corroded in neutral salt spray

The electrochemical/chemical growth of porous (Ni,Co,Cu)(OH) 2 was reported based on the corrosion behaviors of Ni-Co-Cu films in neutral salt spray . The films prepared by using electrodeposition were ternary solid solution alloys with a simple phase structure, strong texture, nanoscale grains, large microstrain and a large number of crystal defects . The unique microstructures coupled with extensive ion diffusion during the subsequent corrosion process facilitated the formation of ternary hydroxides with uniform and porous nanostructures . The ternary hydroxides composed of Ni-/Co-dominant hydrotalcite-like and Cu-dominant orthorhombic (Ni,Co,Cu)(OH) 2 could be efficiently prepared by motivating the transformation from oxide to hydroxide. The binder-free (Ni,Co,Cu)(OH) 2 electrode exhibited a high specific capacitance of 1738 F g −1 at a current density of 20 A g −1 and decent cycling stability. The electrochemical/chemical growth mode, uniform porous nanostructures and nature of the ternary hydroxides could account for the superior electrochemical performances. This work proposed a simple and green approach to prepare multicomponent hydroxides as novel electrode materials for rechargeable batteries and hybrid supercapacitors .