Preparation and electrochemical properties of ZnCo₂O₄ and ZnCo₂O₄/rGO composites

Abstract

A facile one-pot hydrothermal route was selected for the synthesis of ZnCo2O4 and ZnCo2O4/rGO composite electrode materials. The structure, morphology and electrochemical properties of the as-perpared materials were characterized by XRD, SEM and RST5000 electrochemical workstation. ZnCo2O4 electrode materials with a group of radial structure, folding lamellar structure and the spherical structure were obtained by changing the hydrothermal temperature. Results show that after the addition of graphene, ZnCo2O4 exhibits regular polygonal structure and is attached to graphene sheets. Their synergistic effect can effectively improve the electrochemical performance of electrode materials. When the mass ratio of zinc cobaltate to graphene oxide is 6:1, the specific capacitance of ZnCo2O4/rGO composite material is 205F/g, which is 114% higher than that of pure ZnCo2O4.

Keywords

• zinc cobaltate
• graphene
• composite material
• electrode material