Ceria-embedded nickel oxide electrodes may improve sustainable energy storage
Ceria-embedded nickel oxide electrodes may improve sustainable energy storage lead image
The continued development of renewable energy sources requires advances in energy conversion and storage. Supercapacitors have shown their potential with rapid charge and discharge rates, high power density, and long cycle life. Pseudo-capacitors, which rely on Faradaic reactions, have been found to have the high-level electroconductivity and electrical active surface area necessary for improving supercapacitor performance. However, while many pseudo-capacitive electrode materials have been tested, most have drawbacks for practical applications due to problems related to thermal stability, cost, and ease of fabrication.
Zhao et al. developed a new technique to create three-dimensional hybrid pseudo-capacitive electrodes for high-performance supercapacitors using ceria nanoparticles embedded in nickel oxide.
In order to achieve the necessary crystallographic structure for supercapacitor applications, the authors used a series of facile hydrothermal and annealing processes to create the nickel oxide foam sample. They analyzed the electrode material using x-ray powder diffraction, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscopy.
The results found the electrode material had high capacitance and high energy density. The authors attributed these properties to the structural features of the material, which were seen in the scanning electron microscope images. In addition, the electrodes also exhibited particularly long life cycling, losing only 12% efficiency after 2,000 cycles. These characteristics make the electrode material a promising candidate for sustainable energy storage and supercapacitor applications.
Source: “Engineering 3D hybrid electrode composed of ceria nanoparticles embedded in nickel oxides for high-performance supercapacitors,” by Yuhui Zhao, Dongshu Sun, Guoliang Xing, Maobin Wei, Jinghai Yang, Xinying Wang, and Dandan Wang, Journal of Applied Physics (2019). The article can be accessed at https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5094938 .
