Hydrothermally synthesized mesoporous Co3O4 nanorods as effective supercapacitor material

Mesoporous Co3O4 nanomaterial in rod-shape morphology has been synthesized via a hydrothermal method, and heat treated at 350 °C for 2 h to develop a phase. Phase purity, morphology, specific surface area and chemical composition of as-obtained Co3O4 material were studied using XRD, Raman, TEM, N2-adsoprtion/desorption and XPS techniques. XRD and Raman analyses indicate single phase material formation with nano-structure, and cubic normal spinel-type structure with a cell parameter of 8.123 Å. The spinel particles are of rod-shape morphology and the specific surface area, estimated through BET studies, is obtained as 47 m2/g. Cyclic voltammogram (CV) recorded at different scan rates evidently demonstrate pseudocapacitance nature of the synthesized material. Maximum specific capacitance (CS) is computed and the value is 261 F/g at 0.25 A/g. These materials have shown longer cycle stability at lower KOH concentration and lower current density. Synthesized Co3O4 nanomaterial could be used as electrode material for energy storage applications.