A smart hybrid nanowire array consisting of Co3O4 porous nanowire core and a MnO2 ultrathin nanosheet shell is fabricated using a general 3D interfacial carbon‐assisted hydrothermal method. The array exhibits a high capacitance with good cycle performance and remarkable rate capability that is ranging among the best reported to date for hybrid metal oxide systems in the absence of a conducting matrix.

Metal‐organic frameworks (MOFs) are promising porous precursors for the construction of various functional materials for high‐performance electrochemical energy storage and conversion. Herein, a facile two‐step solution method to rational design of a novel electrode of hollow NiCo2O4 nanowall arrays on flexible carbon cloth substrate is reported. Uniform 2D cobalt‐based wall‐like MOFs are first synthesized via a solution reaction, and then the 2D solid nanowall arrays are converted into hollow and porous NiCo2O4 nanostructures through an ion‐exchange and etching process with an additional annealing treatment. The as‐obtained NiCo2O4 nanostructure arrays can provide rich reaction sites and short ion diffusion path. When evaluated as a flexible electrode material for supercapacitor, the as‐fabricated NiCo2O4 nanowall electrode shows remarkable electrochemical performance with excellent rate capability and long cycle life. In addition, the hollow NiCo2O4 nanowall electrode exhibits promising electrocatalytic activity for oxygen evolution reaction. This work provides an example of rational design of hollow nanostructured metal oxide arrays with high electrochemical performance and mechanical flexibility, holding great potential for future flexible multifunctional electronic devices.

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Highly active and durable air cathodes to catalyze both the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) are urgently required for rechargeable metal-air batteries. In this work, an efficient bifunctional oxygen catalyst comprising hollow Co O nanospheres embedded in nitrogen-doped carbon nanowall arrays on flexible carbon cloth (NC-Co O /CC) is reported. The hierarchical structure is facilely derived from a metal-organic framework precursor. A carbon onion coating constrains the Kirkendall effect to promote the conversion of the Co nanoparticles into irregular hollow oxide nanospheres with a fine scale nanograin structure, which enables promising catalytic properties toward both OER and ORR. The integrated NC-Co O /CC can be used as an additive-free air cathode for flexible all-solid-state zinc-air batteries, which present high open circuit potential (1.44 V), high capacity (387.2 mAh g , based on the total mass of Zn and catalysts), excellent cycling stability and mechanical flexibility, significantly outperforming Pt- and Ir-based zinc-air batteries.

This study reports the design and fabrication of ultrathin MoS 2 nanosheets@metal organic framework-derived N-doped carbon nanowall array hybrids on flexible carbon cloth (CC@CN@MoS 2 ) as a free-standing anode for high-performance sodium ion batteries. When evaluated as an anode for sodium ion battery, the as-fabricated CC@CN@MoS 2 electrode exhibits a high capacity (653.9 mA h g −1 of the second cycle and 619.2 mA h g −1 after 100 cycles at 200 mA g −1 ), excellent rate capability, and long cycling life stability (265 mA h g −1 at 1 A g −1 after 1000 cycles). The excellent electrochemical performance can be attributed to the unique 2D hybrid structures, in which the ultrathin MoS 2 nanosheets with expanded interlayers can provide shortened ion diffusion paths and favorable Na + insertion/extraction space, and the porous N-doped carbon nanowall arrays on flexible carbon cloth are able to improve the conductivity and maintain the structural integrity. Moreover, the N-doping-induced defects also make them favorable for the effective storage of sodium ions, which enables the enhanced capacity and rate performance of MoS 2 .