Metal doped mesoporous FeOOH nanorods for high performance supercapacitors

Abstract

In the present study, the effect of doping of foreign atoms on the parent atoms and the application of the resultant material for energy storage are successfully investigated. A facile method is reported for successful incorporation of cobalt into the regular crystal lattice of iron oxide in ethylene glycol media. As iron oxides are reasonable, the Co doped nano-goethite is expected to be of potential use for supercapacitor application with a high specific capacitance value of 463.18 F g⁻¹ at 0.1 A g⁻¹ current density. It shows a cycling stability of 1000 at 1 A g⁻¹ with 96.36% of initial capacitance. The doped goethite nanorod with a band gap of 2.82 eV and high surface area (159.74 m² g⁻¹) was found to be a superior electrode material for supercapacitors in terms of specific capacitance and cycling capability at a particular percentage of doping. The high discharge capacitance and its retention are attributed to high surface area and porosity of the doped iron oxide.