Assessment of supercapacitive performance of europium tungstate nanoparticles prepared via hydrothermal method

Abstract

Nano-sized europium tungstate particles were prepared by reacting europium nitrate hexahydrate and sodium tungstate solutions, and the structures, morphology and optical properties of the product were evaluated by XRD, FT-IR, SEM, and UV–Visible techniques. The Eu2(WO4)3 nanoparticles were evaluated as potential materials for constructing supercapacitor electrodes using the results of cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge/discharge (GCD) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and the electrodes were found to have a specific capacitance (SC) value of 347 F g−1 in a 2.0 M H2SO4 electrolyte at a scan rate of 2 mV s−1. The electrodes were further studied at the GCD at a current density of 1 A g−1, and the SC of the building material was found to be 282 F g−1. The cycling durability of the electrodes was also found to be excellent. After 4000 cycles the SC values of the electrodes were found to reach 129%. The preparation method and the resulting nano-particles, were hence found to be promising for high performance energy applications.