Effect Of Surface Treatments On Supercapacitive Performance Of SnO2-RuO2 Composite Thin Films

Abstract In the present work, we have adopted a simple and inexpensive route to prepare tin oxide-ruthenium oxide (SnO2-RuO2) composite thin film electrodes via a chemical approach. Further, the fabricated films are treated with different surface treatments in order to tune their morphology and see its effect on the supercapacitor properties. The surface treatments that we used are annealing in air, ultrasonic weltering in NaOH and anodization. It is observed that with air annealing the specific capacitance of the pristine electrode is decreased from 166 F/g to 12 F/g this is due to the loss of hydrous content from the electrode. The electrode then has undergone another surface treatment of ultrasonic weltering where there is change in the morphology of the electrode. The specific capacitance is decreased to 106 F/g for ultrasonically weltered electrode. The effect of anodization treatment is then studied and it is observed that with this treatment the specific capacitance of the electrode is increased to 269 F/g. The increase in the specific capacitance is attributed to the comparatively smooth morphology and improvement in the conductivity of the electrode. This shows that the supercapacitive performance of the electrode can be improved by using different kind of surface treatments. In our research anodization is found to be a good surface treatment to enhance the specific capacitance of the pristine electrode.