Honeycomb-like Co₃O₄ nanosheets with high specific surface area were successfully synthesized on porous nickel foam by the facile hydrothermal method followed by an annealing treatment (300 °C), which were used as high-performance supercapacitor electrodes. The effects of the mole ratio of hexamethylenetetramine (HMT) and Co(NO₃)₂ (1:1, 2:1, 3:1, 4:1, 5:1 and 6:1) as the reactants on the morphological evolution and electrochemical performance of the electrodes were investigated in detail. X-ray diffractometry (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were applied to characterize the structure and morphology of the products. The electrochemical performance was measured by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic charge/discharge. The mole ratio of HMT and Co(NO₃)₂ produced a significant effect on the morphological evolution of Co₃O₄. The morphological evolution of Co₃O₄ with the increase in the mole ratio was followed: the nanosheets accompanied with a large number of spherical nanoparticles → the formation of some strip-like particles due to the agglomeration of spherical nanoparticles → the formation of new nanosheets resulting from the growth of strip-like particles → the formation of coarse flower-like particles owing to the connection among the nanosheets → the nanosheets gradually covered with flower-like particles. Accompanied with the change, the specific surface area was increased firstly, and then decreased. A maximum was obtained at a HMT and Co(NO₃)₂ mole ratio of 4:1. The evolution in morphology of Co₃O₄ was responsible for the change in electrochemical performance of the electrode. The specific capacitance value of the electrode prepared at a HMT and Co(NO₃)₂ mole ratio of 4:1 was highest (743.00 F·g-1 at 1 A·g-1 in the galvanostatic charge/discharge test). The similar result was also observed in the CV test with a scanning rate of 5 mV·s-1. Moreover, the electrode also demonstrated an excellent cyclic performance, in which about 97% of the initial specific capacitance remained at 1 A·g-1 for 500 cycles in the galvanostatic charge/discharge test. This excellent electrochemical performance was ascribed to high specific surface area of Co₃O₄ nanosheets that provide added channels and space for the ions transportation.
Keywords: Co3O4 nanosheets; HMT; electrochemical performance; hydrothermal method; mole ratio.