Porous Co3O4 nanorods as superior electrode material for supercapacitors and rechargeable Li-ion batteries

• Published in: Journal of applied electrochemistry 2013-10, Vol.43 (10), p.995-1003
• Main Authors: Vijayanand, S., Kannan, R., Potdar, H. S., Pillai, V. K., Joy, P. A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Capacitance; Capacitors; Chemistry; Chemistry and Materials Science; Electrochemistry; Electrode materials; Electrodes; Industrial Chemistry/Chemical Engineering; Lithium-ion batteries; Nanorods; Nanostructure; Physical Chemistry; Research Article; Supercapacitors
• ISSN: 0021-891X; 1572-8838
• DOI: 10.1007/s10800-013-0593-7

Porous aggregated nanorods of Co 3 O 4 with a surface area of ~100 m 2  g −1 synthesized without using any templates or surfactants give very high specific capacitance of ~780 F g −1 when used as electrode in a faradaic supercapacitor, with a cycle life of more than 1,000 cycles. Further, in Li-ion batteries when used as an anode, the Co 3 O 4 nanorods achieved a capacity of 1155 mA h g −1 in the first cycle and upon further cycling it is stabilized at 820 mA h g −1 for more than 25 cycles. Detailed characterization indicated the stability of the material and the improved performance is attributed to the shorter Li-insertion/desertion pathways offered by the highly porous nanostructures. The environmentally benign and easily scalable method of synthesis of the porous Co 3 O 4 nanorods coupled with the superior electrode characteristics in supercapacitors and Li-ion batteries provide efficient energy storage capabilities with promising applications.