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Insights into the Electrochemical Synthesis and Supercapacitive Behaviour of 3D Copper Oxide-Based Nanostructures

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Submitted:

02 February 2025

Posted:

03 February 2025

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Abstract

While renewable energy sources supply a progressively larger share of the world’s energetical needs, their non-continuous nature demands coupling with energy storage systems such as batteries or capacitors. Consequently, copper oxide-based materials have emerged as promising candidates due to their affordability, stability, and suitable electrochemical performance. In this study, nanostructured copper oxide-based films were electrochemically synthesized on copper foil and foam electrodes and investigated for their supercapacitive behaviour. The synthesis was carried out via cyclic voltammetry (CV) for up to 1000 cycles in an alkaline electrolyte. By tuning the upper vertex potential (-0.3 V to 0.65 V vs Ag/AgCl), both phase composition (Cu₂O, Cu(OH)₂, CuO) and morphology (grains, nanoneedles, nanoplatelets) were precisely controlled, demonstrating the versatility of this approach. EIS data using foil and foam electrodes shows that various processes occur on the electrode during changing potential from -1,0 to 0,6 V and back. The capacitive properties of the synthesized films were evaluated using CV in the potential range of 0 V–0.65 V, and the optimized CuO film synthesized on Cu foam exhibited a high specific capacitance of 2760 mF cm⁻². Charge-discharge cycling at 100 mV s⁻¹ for 1000 cycles indicated an initial capacitance increase followed by stable retention, highlighting the structural integrity and electrochemical stability of the films. These findings provide valuable insights into the controlled electrochemical synthesis of copper oxide nanostructures and their potential for high-performance capacitor applications.

Keywords: 
copper oxides; electrochemical synthesis; 3D nanostructures; electrochemical impedance spectroscopy; specific capacitance
Subject: 
Chemistry and Materials Science  -   Electrochemistry
Copyright: This open access article is published under a Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license, which permit the free download, distribution, and reuse, provided that the author and preprint are cited in any reuse.

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