Novel synthesis and characterization of ZnCo<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> nanoflakes grown on nickel foam as efficient electrode materials for electrochemical supercapacitors

ZnCo₂O₄ nanoflakes were directly grown on Ni foam via a two-step facile strategy, involving cathodic electrolytic electrodeposition (ELD) method and followed by a thermal annealing treatment step. The results of physical characterizations exhibit that the mesoporous ZnCo₂O₄ nanoflakes have large electroactive surface areas (138.8 m² g^?1) and acceptable physical stability with the Ni foam, providing fast electron and ion transport sites. The ZnCo₂O₄ nanoflakes on Ni foam were directly used as integrated electrodes for supercapacitors and their electrochemical properties were measured in 2 M KOH aqueous solution. The ZnCo₂O₄ nanoflake electrode exhibits a high capacitance of 1781.7 F g^?1 at a current density of 5 A g^?1 and good rate capability (62% capacity retention at 50 A g^?1). Also, an excellent cycling ability at various current densities from 5 to 50 A g^?1 was obtained and 92% of the initial capacitance maintained after 4000 cycles. The results demonstrate that the proposed synthesis route is cost-effective and facile and can be developed for preparation of electrode materials in other electrochemical supercapacitors.     

Hydrothermal synthesis of carbon- and reduced graphene oxide-supported CoMoO4 nanorods for supercapacitor

Hybrid CoMoO₄ nanorods with carbon (C) and graphene oxide (rGO) are successfully synthesized via one-step hydrothermal process. Hybrid α-CoMoO₄ nanorods have shown excellent electrochemical performances compared to pristine CoMoO₄ in alkaline electrolyte. Specifically, CoMoO₄/C nanorod exhibits a maximum specific capacitance of 451.6 F g^?1 at the current density of 1 A g^?1, whereas CoMoO₄/rGO shows high specific capacitance of 336.1 F g^?1 at the same current density. Both the hybrid nanorods show good rate capability even at high current density of 20 A g^?1 and long-term cyclic stability. The observed electrochemical features of the hybrid CoMoO₄ nanostructure could be attributed to the presence of highly conductive carbonaceous material on unique one-dimensional nanorod microstructure which enhances the electrical conductivity of the nanorods thereby allowing faster electrolyte ion diffusion during the redox process.     

New insight on nanostructure assembling of high-performance electrode materials: synthesis of surface-modified hexagonal β-Ni(OH)<Subscript>2</Subscript> nanosheets as an example

Hexagonal β-Ni(OH)₂ nanosheets with thickness of ～12 nm were synthesized by a hydrothermal method at 150 °C using nickel chloride as nickel source and morpholine as alkaline. Electrodes for application in pseudocapacitor were assembled through a traditional technique: pressing a mixture of β-Ni(OH)₂ nanosheets and acetylene black onto nickel foam. Due to the hexagonal shape of rigid β-Ni(OH)₂ nanosheet and the mediation of surface-modified glycerol during electrochemical charge–discharge cycles, a nanostructure of electrode material with facile interior pathway for the transfer of electrolyte was formed. As a result, the as-formed electrodes presented high specific capacitance of 1,917 F g^?1 at current density of 1.6 A g^?1 in 3 mol L^?1 KOH solution. At high charge and discharge current density of 31.3 A g^?1, the electrodes still remained a high specific capacitance of 1,289 F g^?1. The interesting results obtained from this investigation may provide a new insight for the synthesis of electrode materials with high electrochemical performance.     

Hierarchical porous ZnMn<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> synthesized by the sucrose-assisted combustion method for high-rate supercapacitors

A simple sucrose-assisted combustion and subsequent high-temperature calcination route have been employed to prepare hierarchical porous ZnMn₂O₄ nanostructure. When used as an electrode for supercapacitor, the ZnMn₂O₄ electrode displays a high specific capacitance of 411.75 F g^?1 at a current density of 1 A g^?1, remarkable capacitance retention rate of 64.28 % at current density of 32 A g^?1 compared with 1 A g^?1, as well as excellent cycle stability (reversible capacity retention of 88.32 % after 4000 cycles). The outstanding electrochemical performances are mainly attributed to its hierarchical porous architecture, which provides large reaction surface area, fast ion and electron transfer, and good structure stability. All these impressive results demonstrate that ZnMn₂O₄ shows promise for its application in supercapacitors.     

Honeycomb-like manganese oxide nanospheres for redox supercapacitors

Honeycomb-like MnO₂ nanospheres were synthesized using stainless steel substrates by a facile chemical bath deposition method. The obtained nanospheres were about 200–400 nm in diameter and consisted of porous ultrathin nanosheets. Honeycomb-like MnO₂ nanospheres exhibited a high specific capacitance of 240 F g^?1 and 87.1% capacitance retention after 1000 cycles at a current density of 0.5 A g^?1. These remarkable electrochemical results imply great potential for applications of the honeycomb-like MnO₂ nanospheres in supercapacitors.     

MnO2/graphite electrodeposited under supergravity field for supercapacitors and its electrochemical properties

MnO₂/graphite electrode material is successfully synthesized by electrodeposition under supergravity field from manganese acetate and graphite suspending solution. X-ray diffraction and field emission scanning electron microscopy show that the obtained composite is γ-MnO₂/graphite. The process of depositing the MnO₂/graphite was shown by the schematic illustration. Galvanostatic charge/discharge and cyclic voltammograms tests are applied to investigate electrochemical performances of the composite electrodes prepared under supergravity fields. MnO₂/graphite synthesized under supergravity field exhibits good discharge capacitance and the specific capacitance is 367.77 F g^?1 at current density of 0.5 A g^?1. It is found that supergravity field has effects on the electrochemical performances of MnO₂/graphite material.     

Synthesis of δ-MnO<Subscript>2</Subscript> film on FTO glass with high electrochemical performance

δ-Manganese dioxide (MnO₂) has been proved to own the excellent electrochemical performances for a long time. But few of studies report the electrochemical performances of δ-MnO₂ film. Here, we synthesize δ-MnO₂ film on fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glass via a simple redox reaction at the room temperature. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy are used to confirm the physical structure, whilst cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge-discharge measurements are performed to investigate the electrochemical performances. Encouragingly, δ-MnO₂ film delivers a high specific capacitance (C _s) of 350.5 F g^?1 at 100 mV s^?1 and 275.0 F g^?1 at 5 A g^?1. The capacitance retention of δ-MnO₂ film can be up to 100 % after being charge/discharge at 2 A g^?1 with 1000 cycles. This research might further indicate that δ-MnO₂ film is a promising electrode material for supercapacitors.     

Supercapacitor performances of rich nitrogen-doped mesoporous graphene fabricated by a facile template-free copyrolysis process

Rich nitrogen-doped mesoporous graphene (NDMG) with a large specific surface area of 496.8 m² g^?1 and high electrical conductivity of 327.2 S cm^?1, and suitable pore size was synthesized by a facile co-thermal annealing of pre-prepared phenolic polymer and dicyandiamide. The NDMG has a high nitrogen content (7.9 wt%) and can act as promising electroactive materials for two-electrode symmetric supercapacitors. The NDMG cells displayed a high specific capacitance of ca. 316 F g^?1 at 0.5 A g^?1, which is much higher than that of the pristine graphene devices (ca. 123 F g^?1). Moreover, compared with the capacitance drop rate of pristine graphene devices (8.9 %), the specific capacitance of NDMG cells was decreased by only 3.2 % after 2000 cycles, exhibiting a good cycling performance and reversibility. In addition, the specific capacitance of the NDMG cells can reach 251 F g^?1 at 5.0 A g^?1, revealing an excellent rate capability and implying the ability to deliver a high energy density at a high power density. The good electrochemical performances of NDMG can be attributed to its high surface area, suitable mesopore size, and high electrical conductivity.     

A novel synthesis of size-controllable mesoporous NiMoO<Subscript>4</Subscript> nanospheres for supercapacitor applications

A novel hydrothermal emulsion method is proposed to synthesize mesoporous NiMoO₄ nanosphere electrode material. The size of sphere-shaped NiMoO₄ nanostructure is controlled by the mass ratio of water and oil phases. Nickel acetate tetrahydrate and ammonium heptamolybdate were used as nickel and molybdate precursors, respectively. The resultant mesoporous NiMoO₄ nanospheres were characterized by X-ray diffraction, N₂ adsorption and desorption, scanning electron microscopy, and transmission electron microscopy. The electrochemical performances were evaluated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), cyclic chronopotentiometry (CP), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) in 6 M KOH solution. The typical mesoporous NiMoO₄ nanospheres exhibit the large specific surface area of 113 m² g^?1 and high specific capacitance of 1443 F g^?1 at 1 A g^?1, an outstanding cyclic stability with a capacitance retention of 90 % after 3000 cycles of charge-discharge at a current density of 10 A g^?1, and a low resistance.     

Fabrication of Ni-Co binary oxide/reduced graphene oxide composite with high capacitance and cyclicity as efficient electrode for supercapacitors

Nickel-cobalt binary oxide/reduced graphene oxide (G-NCO) composite with high capacitance is synthesized via a mild method for electrochemical capacitors. G-NCO takes advantages of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and nickel-cobalt binary oxide. As an appropriate matrix, RGO is beneficial to form homogeneous structure and improve the electron transport ability. The binary oxide owns more active sites than those of nickel oxide and cobalt oxide to promote the redox reaction. Attributed to the well crystallinity, homogeneous structure, increased active sites, and improved charge transfer property, the G-NCO composite exhibits highly enhanced electrochemical performance compared with G-NiO and G-Co₃O₄ composites. The specific capacitance of the G-NCO composite is about 1750 F g^?1 at 1 A g^?1 together with capacitance retention of 79 % (900/1138 F g^?1) over 10,000 cycles at 4 A g^?1. To research its practical application, an asymmetric supercapacitor with G-NCO as positive electrode and activated carbon as negative electrode was fabricated. The asymmetric device exhibits a prominent energy density of 37.7 Wh kg^?1 at a power density of 800 W kg^?1. The modified G-NCO composite shows great potential for high-capacity energy storage.     

Facile synthesis and characterization of high-performance NiMoO<Subscript>4</Subscript> · <Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis>H<Subscript>2</Subscript>O nanorods electrode material for supercapacitors

One-dimensional NiMoO₄ · xH₂O nanorods were synthesized by a facile template-free hydrothermal method as a potential electrode material for supercapacitors. The influences of reaction temperature, reaction time, and nickel source on the properties of resultant samples were investigated. Electrochemical data reveal that the as-synthesized one-dimensional NiMoO₄ · xH₂O nanorod superstructures can deliver a remarkable specific capacitance (SC) of 1131 F g^?1 at a current density of 1 A g^?1 and remain as high as 914 F g^?1 at 10 A g^?1 in a 6 M KOH aqueous solution. Moreover, there is only 6.2 % loss of the maximum SC after 1000 continuous charge–discharge cycles at the high current density of 10 A g^?1. Such outstanding electrochemical performance may be owing to the unique one-dimensional hierarchical structures, which can facilitate the electrolyte ions and electrons to easily contact the NiMoO₄ nanorod building blocks and then allow for sufficient faradaic reactions to take place, even at high current densities.     

A facile synthesis about amorphous CoS<Subscript>2</Subscript> combined with first principle analysis for supercapacitor materials

The structure and electrochemical properties of amorphous CoS₂ and crystalline CoS₂ have been studied with both experimental characterization and theoretical calculations. In the field of experimental characterization, a facile chemical precipitation method is used to synthesize amorphous and crystalline CoS₂ samples with calcining temperatures of 200 and 280 °C, respectively. Comparing with crystalline CoS₂, amorphous structure of CoS₂ manifests great electron conductivity, effective porous structure, and exhibit a high specific capacitance of 996.16 F g^?1 at current density of 0.5 A g^?1, excellent rate capability of 89.8% retention with the current density ranging from 0.5 to 5 A g^?1, and a great cycling stability of 97.6% retention after 10,000 cycles at 2 A g^?1 in 6 mol L^?1 KOH aqueous electrolyte. In the area of theoretical calculation, we used the first principle and obtained the band structure with band gap of 0.00369 eV and DOSs with high locality of D-orbital from 69.88689 electrons/eV main peak, in the CoS₂ amorphous. The result confirms that amorphous CoS₂ have higher conductivity than crystalline CoS₂ in theory. In addition, the as-assembled asymmetric supercapacitor of Co-S-200//AC also exhibits the maximum specific capacitance of 104 F g^?1 within a cell voltage from 0 to 1.5 V at current density of 0.5 A g^?1 and indicates a great cycling stability of 95.68% and excellent capacitance behavior. All results demonstrate a great potential of amorphous CoS₂ active material for supercapacitors.     

Fabrication of functionalized nitrogen-doped graphene for supercapacitor electrodes

A unique and convenient one-step hydrothermal process for synthesizing functionalized nitrogen-doped graphene (FGN) via ethylenediamine, hydroquinone, and graphene oxide (GO) is described. The graphene sheets of FGN provide a large surface area for hydroquinone molecules to be anchored on, which can greatly enhance the contribution of pseudocapacitance. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, and electrochemical workstation are used to characterize the materials. The nitrogen content exhibited in FGN can be up to 9.83 at.%, and the as-produced graphene material shows an impressive specific capacitance of 364.6 F g^?1 at a scan rate of 10 mV s^?1, almost triple that of the graphene (GN)-based one (127.5 F g^?1). Furthermore, the FGN electrodes show excellent electrochemical cycle stability with 94.4 % of its initial capacitance retained after 500 charge/discharge cycles at the current density of 3 A g^?1.     

Influence of graphene coating on supercapacitive behavior of sandwich-like N- and O-enriched porous carbon/graphene composites in aqueous and organic electrolytes

Polyacrylonitrile nanofiber cloth coated with graphene oxide was carbonized and activated to fabricate nitrogen- and oxygen-enriched porous carbon/graphene (NAC@Gr) sandwich-like composites. The influence of graphene coating on the microstructure, surface composition, and supercapacitive performance of the as-prepared composites was investigated. The results indicated that significantly enhanced energy storage capability can be achieved due to the high specific surface area, optimized pore structure, and surface functionality. The composites show both high gravimetric and volumetric specific capacitances, for example, 380 F g^?1 (178 F cm^?3) at 0.1 A g^?1 in 6 M KOH and 228 F g^?1 (125 F cm^?3) at 1 A g^?1 in 1 M TEABF₄/AN electrolyte. The assembled symmetric supercapacitors exhibit high energy density, high power density, excellent cycling stability, and high-rate performance.     

One-pot synthesized mesoporous Ni–Co hydroxide for high performance supercapacitors

Mesoporous Ni(OH)₂/Co(OH)₂ electrode materials were synthesized via a simple one-pot procedure by combining homogeneous precipitation and stepwise precipitation method. The configuration of the porous Ni(OH)₂/Co(OH)₂ electrode materials synthesized provides 3D electron transmission channels through a high conductive Co(OH)₂ distributed in the peripheral nanolayer of the composites, which is beneficial to rate capability and cycle stability. The Ni(OH)₂/Co(OH)₂ electrode materials have a specific surface area of 229 m² g^?1, which is approximately 40% higher than that of Ni(OH)₂ (163 m² g^?1). Their specific capacitance is up to 1202 and 1022 F g^?1 at the current densities of 10 and 20 A g^?1, respectively. Furthermore, the capacitance retention of the electrode materials at the current density of 10 A g^?1 is 98% after 5000 cycles. The synthesis method provides a novel simple route to fabricate heterostructure materials for capacitors with high electrochemical performance.

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Hexagonal-like NiCo<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript> nanostructure based high-performance supercapacitor electrodes

A novel approach of double hydroxide-mediated synthesis of nickel cobaltite (NiCo₂O₄) electro-active material by the hydrothermal method is reported. The obtained NiCo₂O₄ electro-active material displays the spinel cubic phase and hexagonal-like morphology. Thermogravimetry analysis confirms the thermal stability of the electrode material. The functional groups and phase formation of NiCo₂O₄ have been confirmed by FT-IR and Raman spectral analysis. The modified NiCo₂O₄ electrode exhibits the highest specific capacitance of 767.5 F g^?1 at a current density of 0.5 A g^?1 in 3 M KOH electrolyte and excellent cyclic stability (94 % capacitance retention after 1000 cycles at a high current density of 5 A g^?1). The excellent electrochemical performance of the electrode is attributed to the hexagonal-like morphology, which contributes to the rich surface electro-active sites and easy transport pathway for the ions during the electrochemical reaction. The attractive Faradic behavior of NiCo₂O₄ electrode has been ascribed to the redox contribution of Ni²⁺/Ni³⁺ and Co²⁺/Co³⁺ metal species in the alkaline medium. The symmetrical two-electrode cell has been fabricated using the NiCo₂O₄ electro-active material with excellent electrochemical properties for supercapacitor applications.     

Morphology-controlled PANI nanowire electrode by using deposition scan rate in H<Subscript>2</Subscript>SO<Subscript>4</Subscript>/PVA polymer electrolyte for electrochemical capacitor

Polyaniline (PANI) nanowire electrode was successfully prepared using electrodeposition method. The morphology, thickness, and electrochemical performance of PANI electrode can be controlled by varying the deposition scan rates. Lower deposition scan rate results in compact and aggregates of PANI nanowire morphology. The uniform nanowire of PANI was obtained at the applied scan rate of 100 mV s^?1, and it was used as symmetric electrode coupled with H₂SO₄/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) gel electrolyte. The different concentrations of H₂SO₄ acid in polymer electrolyte have influenced the electrochemical performance as well. The optimum specific capacitance and energy density of P100 PANI electrode in 3 M H₂SO₄/PVA gel polymer electrolyte was 377 F g^?1 and 95.4 Wh kg^?1 at the scan rate of 1 mV s^?1. The good stability of the electrode in this system is applicable to many wearable electronics applications.     

Synthesis of graphene/nickel oxide composite with improved electrochemical performance in capacitors

A novel reduced graphene oxide/NiO nanosheet composite (r-GO/NiO) (ca. 75 % NiO in weight) was synthesized by a facile two-step method, where the NiO nanosheets were decorated with some voids. The composite was characterized by using X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis, and Raman spectroscopy. The electrochemical properties of the composite were investigated by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge, and discharge measurements. The results show that the r-GO/NiO composite exhibits a stable average specific capacitance of ca. 1,139 F g^?1 (at 0.5 A g^?1) during 1,000 charge–discharge cycles, suggesting that the r-GO/NiO composite is a potential supercapacitor material. The main correlation between the electrochemical performance and the structure of the materials was studied, and the formation process of the composite was also discussed.     

Enhanced electrochemical performance of porous activated carbon by forming composite with graphene as high-performance supercapacitor electrode material

In this work, a novel activated carbon containing graphene composite was developed using a fast, simple, and green ultrasonic-assisted method. Graphene is more likely a framework which provides support for activated carbon (AC) particles to form hierarchical microstructure of carbon composite. Scanning electron microscope (SEM), transmission electron microscope (TEM), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area measurement, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Raman spectra analysis, XRD, and XPS were used to analyze the morphology and surface structure of the composite. The electrochemical properties of the supercapacitor electrode based on the as-prepared carbon composite were investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), charge/discharge, and cycling performance measurements. It exhibited better electrochemical performance including higher specific capacitance (284 F g^?1 at a current density of 0.5 A g^?1), better rate behavior (70.7% retention), and more stable cycling performance (no capacitance fading even after 2000 cycles). It is easier for us to find that the composite produced by our method was superior to pristine AC in terms of electrochemical performance due to the unique conductive network between graphene and AC.     

Fe<Subscript>3</Subscript>O<Subscript>4</Subscript>/functional exfoliation graphene on carbon paper nanocomposites for supercapacitor electrode

In this work, the commercial carbon paper was firstly peeled in K₂CO₃ solution and then was further treated in a KNO₃ solution to form functional exfoliation graphene (FEG) on the commercial carbon paper. The FEG/carbon paper was characterized by Raman spectra and scanning electron microscopy, confirming that some typical layered fold graphenes were successfully peeled off and stood on the carbon paper matrix. Then, Fe₃O₄ nanoparticles (NPs) were grown on the surface of FEG/carbon paper and the as-prepared Fe₃O₄ NPs/FEG/carbon paper was directly used as supercapacitor electrode. The specific capacitance of Fe₃O₄ NPs/FEG/carbon paper was about 316.07 F g^?1 at a current density of 1 A g^?1. Furthermore, the FEG/carbon papers were also functionalized by benzene carboxylic acid to form FFEG/carbon papers, and then the Fe₃O₄ NPs were grown on the surface of FFEG/carbon paper. The specific capacitance of Fe₃O₄ NPs/FFEG/carbon paper was 470 F g^?1 at a current density of 1 A g^?1, superior to some previous reported results. This work might provide a new strategy to prepare various nanostructures on FFEG/carbon papers for future applications.