MoO3 nanoparticles distributed uniformly in carbon matrix for supercapacitor applications

A highly uniform nanocomposite of MoO3 and carbon with a weight ratio of 1:1 is prepared by employing a simple procedure of ball milling. Such composite as electrochemical pseudocapacitor materials for potential energy storage applications exhibits a high specific capacitance of ~ 179 F/g at a charge and discharge current density of 50 mA/g with excellent cycling ability over 1000 cycles. Compared with the capacitance of pure milled graphite (~ 22 F/g) and MoO3 (< 10 F/g), an enhanced electrochemical performance of the composite with a weight ratio of 1:1 is attributed to its unique structure, in which MoO3 nanoparticles (with a size range of 1–180 nm) are uniformly dispersed in an electrically conductive carbon host.

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► A MoO3–carbon nanocomposite was synthesized by a controlled ball milling procedure.
► Such a composite is an interesting material for electrochemical pseudocapacitors.
► It exhibited potentially high energy densities and long cycle life.