MOF-Derived Hybrid Hollow Submicrospheres of Nitrogen-Doped Carbon-Encapsulated Bimetallic Ni–Co–S Nanoparticles for Supercapacitors and Lithium Ion Batteries

The development of bimetallic transition-metal sulfide and nitrogen-doped carbon composites with unique hollow structure is highly desirable for energy storage applications but is also challenging. In the present work, we demonstrate a facile metal–organic framework engaged strategy for synthesizing bimetallic nickel cobalt sulfide and nitrogen-doped carbon composites with hollow spherical structure (denoted as hollow Ni–Co–S-n/NC composites) and a Ni/Co molar ratio (n value) that can be easily controlled. When evaluated as electrode materials for both supercapacitors and lithium ion batteries, it is found that the hollow Ni–Co–S-0.5/NC composite with a Ni/Co molar ratio of 0.5 exhibits optimal electrochemical performance. The hollow Ni–Co–S-0.5/NC composite exhibits a high specific capacity of 543.9 C g–1 at 1 A g–1 and maintains a capacity retention of 67.3% when the current density is increased to 20 A g–1. An asymmetric supercapacitor based on the hollow Ni–Co–S-0.5/NC composite is fabricated, which shows good electrochemical performance with a high energy density of 39.6 W h kg–1 at a power density of 808 W kg–1. For lithium storage, the hollow Ni–Co–S-0.5/NC composite manifests a high reversible discharge capacity of 755.0 mA h g–1 at 200 mA g–1 for 200 cycles as well as good rate capability. The excellent electrochemical performance could be attributed to the desirable structural, compositional, and component advantages. This work could offer new insight into the rational design and synthesis of highly efficient electrode materials for both supercapacitors and lithium ion batteries.