Preparation of CoFe2O4/SiO2 nanocomposite as potential electrode materials for supercapacitors

Abstract

• CoFe 2 O 4 /SiO 2 nanocomposite was prepared by simple sol-gel route. • Excellent specific capacitance of 316.14 F/g at 0.5 A/g was obtained for CoFe 2 O 4 /SiO 2 nanocomposites. • The composite showed higher capacity retention of 95.4% after 5000 cycles. • An energy density of 295.6 Wh kg −1 and specific power of 9.1 kW kg −1 are exhibited. • The synergistic effect of CoFe 2 O 4 and SiO 2 in composite favour the excellent electrochemical activities. In the present work, the magnetic CoFe 2 O 4 /SiO 2 nanocomposites were prepared by the simple sol-gel method for supercapacitor applications. Various characterization techniques, including powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and Raman spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), cyclic voltammetry, and galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD) analysis, were used to investigate the CoFe 2 O 4 /S iO 2 composites. The same materials were used to perform the electrochemical activity for electrode applications, thus confirming their comparable efficiency and reversibility. The prepared electrode exhibited a maximum specific capacitance of 316.14 Fg −1 , a maximum energy density of 295.6 Wh kg −1 1 (4 Ag −1 ), and a maximum power density of 9.1 kW kg −1 (4 Ag −1 ). Excellent capacitance retention of 95.4 % over 5000 cycles showed outstanding cycle stability.