Reagents assisted ZnCo2O4 nanomaterial for supercapacitor application

Abstract

ZnCo2O4 (ZC-UAH) nanomaterials fabricated using an essential-route hydrothermal technique followed by a post-annealing procedure and used as the materials for high performance supercapacitors (SCs) by varying three reagents: urea (UA), ammonium fluoride (AF), and hexamethylenetetramine (HT). A reagent composite (ZC-UAH) served as a large surface area, high electrical conductivity, growth modifier during fabrication, and provide active abundant active sites for Faradaic redox reactions. The resulting products of the crystalline structural, composition, morphological, surface analysis behaviors were characterized by X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy, and Brunauer-Emmett-Teller analysis. The electrochemical properties of the as-prepared materials were tested using a three-electrode system. As a result, the reagent-assisted composite of the ZC-UAH electrode material showed a higher specific capacity of 462.5C g−1 at a current density of 1 A g−1 within the potential range of 0.0–0.4 V in the 2 M KOH electrolyte solution. In addition, the ZC-UAH composite delivered excellent cycling stability, retaining 97.4% of its initial capacitance after 5000 cycles. These outcomes show that the reagent-assisted composite of the ZC-UAH electrode material has remarkable application potential and can achieve better characteristics for high-performance supercapacitors in energy storage applications.