Intelligently Constructing Polyaniline/Nickel Hydroxide Core–Shell Nanoflowers as Anode for Flexible Electrode-Enhanced Lithium-/Sodium-Ion Batteries

Abstract The intelligent design of advanced anode materials plays a pivotal role in energy storage for lithium-ion (LIBs) and sodium-ion batteries (SIBs), offering the potential for broadening their practical applications through the development of flexible electrodes. In this study, nickel hydroxide nanoflowers grown on Ni foam (Ni(OH)2 NFs/NF) were synthesized by hydrothermal method. Subsequently, nickel hydroxide nanoflowers–polyaniline (Ni(OH)2 NFs/PANI) were synthesized by electrodeposition method. Ni(OH)2 NFs/NF and Ni(OH)2 NFs/PANI can be straightforwardly utilized as pliable electrodes. For the first discharge capacity, Ni(OH)2 NFs/PANI electrode delivers a higher capacity (1608.1 mAh g−1) than Ni(OH)2 NFs/NF (1464.1 mAh g−1) for LIBs. For the first discharge capacity, Ni(OH)2 NFs/PANI electrode delivers a superior capacity (473.4 mAh g−1) than Ni(OH)2 NFs/NF (406.6 mAh g−1) for SIBs. Ni(OH)2 NFs/PANI electrode demonstrated enhanced rate performance and cycling stability than the Ni(OH)2 NFs/NF electrode.