NiCo₂O₄@SnS₂ nanosheets on carbon cloth as efficient bi-functional material for high performance supercapacitor and sensor applications

Abstract

Bi-functional materials provide an opportunity for the development of high-performance devices. Up till now, bi-functional performance of NiCo2O4@SnS2 nanosheets is rarely investigated. In this work, NiCo2O4@SnS2 nanosheets were synthesized on carbon cloth by utilizing a simple hydrothermal technique. The developed electrode (NiCo2O4@SnS2/CC) was investigated for the detection of L-Cysteine and supercapacitors applications. As a non-enzymatic sensor, the electrode proved to be highly sensitive for the detection of L-cysteine. The electrode exhibits a reproducible sensitivity of 4645.82 µA mM-1 cm-2 in a wide linear range from 0.5 to 5 mM with a low limit of detection (0.005 μM). Moreover, the electrode shows an excellent selectivity and long-time stability. The high specific surface area, enhanced kinetics, good synergy and distinct architecture of NiCo2O4@SnS2 nanosheets produce a large number of active sites with substantial energy storage potential. As a supercapacitor, the electrode exhibits improve capacitance of 655.7 Fg-1 at a current density of 2 A g−1 as compare to NiCo2O4/CC (560 Fg-1). Moreover, the electrode achieves 95.3 % of its preliminary capacitance after 10,000 cycles at 2Ag−1. Our results show that NiCo2O4@SnS2/CC nanosheets possess binary features could be attractive electrode material for the development of non-enzymatic biosensors as well as supercapacitors.