Role of Ce3+ valence state and surface oxygen vacancies on enhanced electrochemical performance of single step solvothermally synthesized CeO2 nanoparticles

Abstract In this article, different sized CeO2 nanoparticles were synthesized using one step low-cost solvothermal method with various reaction time. Defect states were induced due to the reduction of Ce4+ into Ce3+ valence state. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results recommend that Ce3+ valence states and defects in the form of oxygen vacancies be present on the surface of CeO2 nanoparticles. Such availability of oxygen vacancies provided high specific capacitance 142.5 Fg-1 at a current density of 0.25 Ag-1 in three electrode system using 1 M Na2SO4 electrolyte. There is an increase in faradaic reactions taken place on the surface which is attributed to the high surface area, more oxygen vacancies, and increased diffusion rate. The highest energy density is obtained to be ∼12.68 Wh/kg, and the stability result confirmed that the capacitance retention is ∼75% after 1000 cycles of operation. These results indicate that CeO2@20h NPs is a potential candidate as electrode materials for supercapacitor applications due to their fast mutation between Ce4+ to Ce3+ oxidation state.