Morphological tuning of CuO nanostructures by simple preparative parameters in SILAR method and their consequent effect on supercapacitors

Abstract

Morphology-controlled synthesis of nanomaterials by tuning simple preparative parameters is an impressive path to develop diverse nanostructured materials. Here, we are exploring a successful example of fabrication of hierarchical CuO nanostructures (nanoflakes, nanopetals and diffused nanorods) by simply controlling temperature of reaction bath (3rd beaker) in SILAR method. These CuO nanostructures are further successfully employed as electrode material in supercapacitors. The correlation between electrochemical supercapacitive properties and nanostructures of CuO is investigated in detail. It is revealed that, the supercapacitive properties strongly depend on CuO nanostructures. The specific capacitance values for nanoflakes, nanopetals and diffused nanorods of CuO are found to be 664 F/g, 790 F/g and 695 F/g, respectively at 5 mV/s scan rate. Ragone plot ascertains that CuO nanostructures obtained by SILAR method are potential candidates for high power and high energy density supercapacitors. In addition, EIS analyses show lower ESR values and excellent frequency response for CuO nanostructures. © 2016 Published by Elsevier B.V.