Electrodeposited porous and amorphous copper oxide film for application in supercapacitor

Abstract

In present study, the porous amorphous copper oxide thin films have been deposited from alkaline sulphate bath. The cathodic electrodeposition method was employed to deposit copper oxide film at room temperature on stainless steel substrate. Their structural and surface morphological properties were investigated by means of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron micrograph (SEM), respectively. To propose this as a new material for possible application in the supercapacitor, its electrochemical properties have been studied in aqueous 1M Na2SO4 electrolyte using cyclic voltammetry. The structural analysis from XRD pattern showed the formation of amorphous copper oxide film on the substrate. The surface morphological studies from scanning electron micrographs revealed the formation of porous cauliflower-like copper oxide film. The cyclic voltammetric curves showed symmetric nature and increase in capacitance with increase in film thickness. The maximum specific capacitance of 36 Fg(-1) was exhibited for the 0.6959 mg cm(-2) film thickness. This shows that low-cost copper oxide electrode will be a potential application in supercapacitor. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.