Hierarchical CuCo₂O₄ nanobelts as a supercapacitor electrode with high areal and specific capacitance

Highlights: • First time we report the synthesis of CuCo₂O₄ nanobelts using hydrothermal method. • The spinel CuCo₂O₄ nanobelts exhibit maximum areal capacitance of 2.42 F cm⁻². • After 1800 cycles, 127% of the initial specific capacitance was retained. - Abstract: One dimensional hierarchical CuCo₂O₄ nanobelt like architecture was synthesized via hydrothermal method. The synthesized nanomaterial was characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The TEM image clearly shows the nanobelt like architecture of CuCo₂O₄. The supercapacitor properties of CuCo₂O₄ nanobelts electrode were tested using cyclic voltammetry, charge-discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The spinel CuCo₂O₄ nanobelts exhibit maximum areal and specific capacitance of 2.42 F cm⁻² (809 F g⁻¹). After 1800 continuous charge-discharge cycles, 127% of the initial capacitance was retained. This superior electrochemical supercapacitor property is mainly due to increased surface area and ion transport of nanobelt like architecture. The charge transfer resistance (R_ct) value of CuCo₂O₄ nanobelt electrode is 3.85 Ω. This high capacitance and cyclic stability demonstrate that the prepared CuCo₂O₄ nanobelts are a promising candidate for supercapacitors.