Abstract
Among the popular electrochemical energy storage devices, supercapacitors (SCs) have attracted much attention due to their long cycle life, fast charge and discharge, safety, and reliability. Transition metal oxides are one of the most widely used electrode materials in SCs because of the high specific capacitance. Among various transition metal oxides, Co(3)O(4) and related composites are widely reported in SCs electrodes. In this review, we introduce the synthetic methods of Co(3)O(4), including the hydrothermal/solvothermal method, sol-gel method, thermal decomposition, chemical precipitation, electrodeposition, chemical bath deposition, and the template method. The recent progress of Co(3)O(4)-containing electrode materials is summarized in detail, involving Co(3)O(4)/carbon, Co(3)O(4)/conducting polymer, and Co(3)O(4)/metal compound composites. Finally, the current challenges and outlook of Co(3)O(4) and Co(3)O(4)-containing composites are put forward.