Abstract:
One dimensional porous binary metal oxides exert much more attention for electrochemical energy conversion and storage applications. Herein, we report a simple process for the synthesis of one dimensional mesoporous rod-like NiCo2O4 structure (NCO NRs) grown on reduced graphene oxide sheets (RG/NCO NCs). This noble metal free RG/NCO NCs composite manifested as the dual-functional electrode material for the electrochemical oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and supercapacitor applications. The RG/NCO NCs shows significant OER performance with prosperous reaction kinetics with a smaller Tafel slope of 35 mV dec(-1). It requires only 313 mV overpotential to deliver 10 mA cm(-2) current density, showing superior OER activity compared to some of the state-of-art electrocatalysts under similar electrochemical conditions. Moreover, the RG/NCO NCs showed enhanced energy storage efficacy in terms of higher specific capacitance (1315 F g(-1)), long-term operational durability, higher specific energy and power output. The porous structure, higher specific surface area and better electrochemical conductivity of the RG/NCO NCs make it a suitable material for both the energy conversion and storage application. Additionally, to validate the supercapacitor performance, a prototype device in coin cell configuration has been designed and successfully tested to power a LED. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.