Electrochemical Charge Storage Performance of Mesoporous MoO3@Co3O4 Nanocomposites as Electrode Materials

Constructing a novel nanocomposite structure based on Co3O4 is of the current interest to design and develop efficient electrochemical capacitors. The capacitive performance of MoO3@Co3O4 nanocomposite is compared with pristine Co3O4 nanoparticles, both of them being synthesized by hydrothermal technique. A BET surface area of ~41 m2g-1 (almost twice that of Co3O4 )and average pore size of 3.6 nm is found to be suitable for promoting Faradaic reactions in the nanocomposite. Electrochemical measurements conducted on both samples predict capacitive behavior with quasi-reversible redox reactions. MoO3@Co3O4 nanocomposite is capable of delivering a superior specific capacitance of 1248 Fg-1 at 0.5 Ag-1 along with notable stability of 92% even after 2000 cycles of charge-discharge and Coulombic efficiency approaching 100% at 10 Ag-1. The outstanding results obtained in this work assure functional adequacy of MoO3@Co3O4 nanocomposite in fabricating high-performance electrochemical capacitors.