Study of ternary metal oxides as supercapacitor electrodes

Abstract

Supercapacitors are energy storage devices that make use of ion adsorption (electrochemical double layer capacitors) or fast surface redox reactions (pseudocapacitors). They complement batteries in electrical energy storage. Recent advances in charge storage mechanisms and the development of advanced nanostructured materials has yielded notable improvement in the performance of supercapacitors. The structural and electrochemical properties of the mixed metallic oxides Al x Cu y Co z Fe 2 O 4 (where x + y + z = 1) nanomaterials, which crystallise in a cubic spinel AFe 2 O 4 structure are investigated systematically with a gradual substitution of Al by transition metals. The crystal structure information studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) depicts the formation of single phase spinel structure, while electron-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) reveals the stoichiometric relations of Al, Cu and Co.