Post-synthetic functionalization of mesoporous carbon electrodes with copper oxide nanoparticles for supercapacitor application

Mesoporous carbon electrodes have been decorated with different contents of Cu/Cu2O nanoparticles via post-synthetic approach and successfully used for supercapacitor application. The N2 adsorption results reveal that all the functionalized materials exhibit a well-ordered mesoporous structure with excellent textural characteristics whereas the XRD results demonstrate that the structure of the mesoporous carbon support is retained even after the functionalization process. The HRSEM and HRTEM images display that the copper oxides are highly dispersed along the nanochannels of the mesoporous carbon support which are critical for the supercapacitor application. The electrochemical performance of Cu/Cu2O nanoparticles functionalized mesoporous carbon with tunable etc. pore structures is investigated by cyclic voltammetry, charge/discharge test and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Interestingly, as the pore diameter of the support increases, electrochemical performance is also increased and a maximum specific capacitance of 380 F g−1 at a current density of 1 mA cm−2 is achieved for CMK-3-150 loaded with 20 wt% of the Cu/Cu2O nanoparticles. The excellent electrochemical performance of the functionalized mesoporous carbon electrodes are attributed to the combined effect of electrical double layer and pseudo capacitance generated by the support with excellent textural parameters and the Cu/Cu2O nanoparticles, respectively.

Graphical abstractHerein we report on the preparation of Cu/Cu2O nanoparticles functionalized mesoporous carbon with different pore diameters via post synthetic pathway and their application in energy storage. It has been found that the prepared redox functionalized materials show much better performance than the pure mesoporous carbon electrodes.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slideHighlights► Preparation of copper oxide functionalized mesoporous carbon. ► Controlling of the size and the amount of copper oxide in mesoporous carbon. ► Supercapacitor performance of copper oxide functionalized mesoporous carbon. ► Showed enhanced performance for the supercapacitor application.