Preparation and characterization of flower-like microspheres of nano-NiO as electrode material for supercapacitor

Abstract

NiO electrode material was prepared by a facile and environment-friendly hydrothermal method combined with subsequent calcination. The prepared samples were characterized by SEM, XRD and nitrogen adsorption. The electrochemical performances were investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge–discharge and cycle life. The condition of synthesis on the electrochemical performance of NiO was studied. The results show that the prepared NiO is a nanosize material with a special morphology of flower-like microspheres. It has a high specific capacitance of 762Fg−1 at 1Ag−1 and 598Fg−1 at high discharge current density of 10Ag−1. Furthermore, it exhibits an outstanding cycling performance and stability reflected by a high capacitive retention of 96% after the subsequent 1000 cycles at a high current density of 15Ag−1.