Sodium dodecyl sulphate assisted hydrothermally synthesized hexagonal prismatic nanocrystalline zinc cobaltite for high performance supercapacitors

Hexagonal prismatic nanocrystalline ZnCo 2 O 4 (HPNZCO) has been successfully synthesized via sodium dodecyl sulphate-assisted facile hydrothermal method. The crystallographic analysis revealed that the obtained compound is in pure ZnCo 2 O 4 phase with Fd 3 ¯ m space group and the estimated crystallite size is 10 nm. The surface morphological features depict homogenously distributed hexagonal prism grains with an average grain size of less than 10 nm. TEM analysis revealed that the hexagonal morphology prisms are closely packed together as a group and facilitate large electrochemical active sites for the redox reactions and accelerate ion transport during the electrochemical process. The HPNZCO electrode delivered the highest specific capacitance ( C S ) of 1060 F g −1 at a current density of 1 A g −1 and retained 93% of capacitance even after 5000 cycles, suggesting its excellent cycling stability. The demonstrations infer that the HPNZCO electrode opens up new opportunities for next-generation high performance supercapacitors.