Abstract
Mesoporous materials have gained considerable attention in the fabrication of supercapacitor electrodes because of their large surface areas and controlled porosities. This study reports the synthesis of mesoporous CuCo(2)O(4) powders using the inverse micelle method. X-ray diffraction, N(2) sorption measurement, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were performed to investigate the properties of the powders. After heat treatment at 250 °C in a vacuum atmosphere, the mesoporous CuCo(2)O(4) powders exhibited a large specific surface area of 116.32 m(2) g(-1) and a high crystallinity. The electrode fabricated by using the as-prepared mesoporous CuCo(2)O(4) powder exhibited enhanced electrical properties with a maximum specific capacitance of 140 F g(-1) and capacitance retention of 91.4% after 3000 continuous charge-discharge cycles. Therefore, the as-prepared mesoporous CuCo(2)O(4) powders hold great potential in the fabrication of supercapacitor electrodes to be used for a wide range of electrochemical applications.