Characterization and Pseudo-Capacitance Performance of Porous Co3O4 Nanorods Synthesized by Thermal Decomposition

Porous Co3O4 nanorods were synthesized by the thermolysis of organometallic cobalt oxalate precursor via ultrasonic assisted method. FT-IR, XRD, XPS, SEM, TEM and BET were applied to characterize the effect of thermal treatment temperature on the properties of porous Co3O4 nanorods. A threeelectrode system was used to perform cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and galvanostatic charge-discharge measurements to study the electrochemical behaviours of Co3O4 nanorods modified nickel foam electrodes. Compared with Co3O4 prepared by pyrolysis at various temperatures, Co3O4 nanorods obtained at 300 degrees C had the highest specific capacitance of 226.80 F.g(-1) at a current density of 1 A.g(-1) in the potential range of -0.4 to 0.6 V (vs. Hg/HgO). After performing 1000 cycles in 2 M KOH electrolyte, 99.76% of specific capacitance was retained, showing the excellent stability of Co3O4 nanorods modified electrode.