Starfish-shaped Co3O4/ZnFe2O4 Hollow Nanocomposite: Synthesis, Supercapacity, and Magnetic Properties

• Published in: ACS applied materials & interfaces 2015-05, Vol.7 (18), p.9972-9981
• Main Authors: Hu, Xiao-Wei, Liu, Sheng, Qu, Bo-Tao, You, Xiao-Zeng
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1944-8244; 1944-8252
• DOI: 10.1021/acsami.5b02317

A novel starfish-shaped porous Co3O4/ZnFe2O4 hollow nanocomposite was fabricated for the first time by a facile and stepwise hydrothermal approach, utilizing metal–organic frameworks as precursors and sacrificial templates. The morphology evolution in the synthetic process upon reaction time and amount of raw materials were investigated in detail. The as-synthesized starfish-shaped porous Co3O4/ZnFe2O4 composites were studied as an electrode material for supercapacitors showing good capacitive performances. Their specific capacitance can reach as high as 326 F g–1 at 1 A g–1. The rational combination of components with different potential windows in a composite material enables a wide overall potential range resulting in the highest energy density of 82.5 Wh kg–1, significantly larger than that of the single components. Magnetic measurements show that the system presents a large coercivity and high squareness (at 1.8 K, H c = 884 Oe and M r/M s = 0.52) with respect to the individual components, which may be attributed to the unique morphology of Co3O4/ZnFe2O4, as well as surface and interface exchange coupling effects. Materials with this novel design and fabrication may show promise for potential applications in electrochemical energy storage and magnetic devices.