ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

CTAB-templated synthesis and characterization of nanorod-shaped NiCo₂O₄ crystals for supercapacitor application

G. Sivashanmugam and P. Anbusrinivasan

Department of Chemistry, A.V.C. College (Autonomous), Mayiladuthurai, India

E-mail: sivashanmugam.gss@gmail.com

Received: 17 August 2019  Accepted: 25 October 2019

Abstract:

In this endeavor, NiCo₂O₄ crystals were synthesized through facile, cost-effective cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), templated precipitation technique. The formation of NiCo₂O₄ crystals was evaluated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), X-ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic studies. The surface morphologies of NiCo₂O₄ nanocrystals were closely associated with the CTAB concentration, which has a significant effect on the electrochemical performance of the prepared nanocrystals. The freshly prepared crystal demonstrates a well-defined one-dimensional nanorod structure. Moreover, the electrochemical features of all the freshly synthesized NiCo₂O₄ crystals were examined by using cyclic voltammetry (CV), chronopotentiometric techniques. Among the different NiCo₂O₄ crystals, the best NiCo₂O₄-D (prepared using 0.02 M of CTAB solution) electrode material showed an outstanding performance with a high specific capacitance of 809 Fg⁻¹ at a scan rate of 5 m V s⁻¹ and displaying an exceptional cycling stability of 94% of the initial capacitance retention, even after 3000 continuous CV cycles at a high scan rate of 100 mV s⁻¹ in an aqueous 1 M KOH electrolyte solution. Hence, the distinctive CTAB template NiCo₂O₄-D crystal could be employed as a significant candidate for supercapacitor application.

Keywords: NiCo2O4 crystals; CTAB-assisted synthesis; Energy storage; Supercapacitors

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.1007/s11696-019-00983-8

Chemical Papers 74 (4) 1309–1319 (2020)