Experimental investigation of Co and Fe-Doped CuO nanostructured electrode material for remarkable electrochemical performance

Abstract The current research work presents a facile and cost–effective co-precipitation method to prepare doped (Co & Fe) CuO and undoped CuO nanostructures without usage of any type of surfactant or capping agents. The structural analysis reveals monoclinic crystal structure of synthesized pure CuO and doped-CuO nanostructures. The effect of different morphologies on the performance of supercapacitors has been found in CV (cyclic voltammetry) and GCD (galvanic charge discharge) investigations. The specific capacitances have been obtained 156 (±5) Fg−1, 168(±5) Fg−1 and 186 (±5) Fg−1 for CuO, Co-doped CuO and Fe-doped CuO electrodes, respectively at scan rate of 5 mVs−1, while it is found to be 114 (±5) Fg−1, 136 (±5) Fg−1 and 170 (±5) Fg−1 for CuO, Co–CuO and Fe–CuO, respectively at 0.5 Ag-1 as calculated from the GCD. The super capacitive performance of the Fe–CuO nanorods is mainly attributed to the synergism that evolves between CuO and Fe metal ion. The Fe-doped CuO with its nanorods like morphology provides superior specific capacitance value and excellent cyclic stability among all studied nanostructured electrodes. Consequently, it motivates to the use of Fe-doped-CuO nanostructures as electrode material in the next generation energy storage devices.