Surfactant effect on energy storage performance of hydrothermally synthesized Ni₃V₂O₈

Abstract

We report a study to improve the ternary oxide Ni3V2O8's electrochemical energy storage capabilities through correct surfactanization during hydrothermal synthesis. In this study, Ni3V2O8 nanomaterials were synthesized in three different forms: one with a cationic surfactant (CTAB), one with an anionic surfactant (SLS), and one without any surfactant. FESEM study reveals that all the synthesized Ni3V2O8 nanomaterials had a small stone-like morphology. The electrochemical study showed that anionic surfactant-assisted Ni3V2O8 (NVSLS) had a maximum of 972 F/g specific capacitance at 1A/g current density, whereas cationic surfactant-assisted Ni3V2O8 (NVCTAB) had the lowest specific capacitance of 162 F/g. The specific capacitance and the capacitance retention of the NVSLS (85% after 4000 cycles) based electrode was much better than that of the NVCTAB (76% after 4000 cycles) based electrode. The improved energy storage properties of the NVSLS electrode are attributed to its high diffusion coefficient, high surface area, and enriched elemental nickel, as compared to the NVCTAB electrode. All these excellent electrochemical properties of NVSLS electrode indicates their potential usage in asymmetric supercapacitor application.