Clinker-like V2O5 nanostructures anchored on 3D Ni-foam for supercapacitor application

Abstract In the present work, a simple, scalable and cost - effective synthesis approach has been used for preparation of V2O5 powder by thermal decomposition method. Firstly, the physicochemical properties such as XRD, FESEM, contact angle, BET etc., of V2O5 powder annealed at 400 0C, 500 0C, and 600 0C (denoted as V1, V2, and V3 respectively) were studied. Subsequently followed by a detailed investigation of the electrochemical properties. The electrochemical properties of active V2O5–Ni foam (VNF) electrode showed pseudocapacitive nature. The V1–NF electrode exhibits highest specific capacitance of 1227.2 F g-1 as compared with V2–NF (723.8 F g-1) and V3–NF (511.2 F g-1) at the scan rate of 1 mV s-1 in 1 M KOH aqueous electrolyte with three-electrode system. The optimum electrode showed specific capacitance retention of approximately 96.1 %, even after 2000 consecutive GCD cycles. Therefore, VNF is the promising electrode material for supercapacitor application.