Abstract
The present work reports synthesis of cobalt hydroxide (Co(OH) 2 ) rods on nickel foam and its supercapacitor application. Hierarchical Co(OH) 2 rods with length of approximately 3.5aμm and diameter of approximately 400anm were prepared by one-step, simple, and inexpensive chemical-bath-deposition method. The direct growth of Co(OH) 2 rods on the Ni foam gave three dimensional (3D) structure for easy access of electrolyte throughout material surface. Also, well-adhered interface between Co(OH) 2 rods and Ni-foam surface gave better conduction channels. Detailed electrochemical study was performed by using cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge/discharge measurements. The results demonstrate that Co(OH) 2 rods on Ni foam are efficient electrodes for supercapacitor application. Time for a bath! One-step, simple, and inexpensive synthesis of Co(OH) 2 rods on Ni foam by the optimized chemical-bath-deposition method is described. The Ni-foam substrate can serve both as current collector and give nucleation sites for growth of Co(OH) 2 rods, which eliminates the use of ancillary conducting material and binder (see figure). © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.