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

Bi-functional materials provide an opportunity for the development of high-performance devices. Up till now, bi-functional performance of NiCo 2 O 4 @SnS 2 nanosheets is rarely investigated. In this work, NiCo 2 O 4 @SnS 2 nanosheets were synthesized on carbon cloth by utilizing a simple hydrothermal technique. The developed electrode (NiCo 2 O 4 @SnS 2 /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 μ A mM −1 cm −2 in a wide linear range from 0.5 to 5 mM with a low limit of detection (0.005 μ M). Moreover, the electrode shows an excellent selectivity and long-time stability. The high specific surface area, enhanced kinetics, good synergy and distinct architecture of NiCo 2 O 4 @SnS 2 nanosheets produce a large number of active sites with substantial energy storage potential. As a supercapacitor, the electrode exhibits improve capacitance of 655.7 F g −1 at a current density of 2 A g −1 as compare to NiCo 2 O 4 /CC (560 F g −1 ). Moreover, the electrode achieves 95.3% of its preliminary capacitance after 10 000 cycles at 2 A g −1 . Our results show that NiCo 2 O 4 @SnS 2 /CC nanosheets possess binary features could be attractive electrode material for the development of non-enzymatic biosensors as well as supercapacitors.