Impact of surfactant on specific capacitance of nickel oxide nanoparticles for supercapacitor application

In this study, the influence of surfactant on the specific capacitance of nickel oxide nanoparticles (NiO NPs) for supercapacitor applications is studied. We synthesized nickel oxide (NiO) and nickel oxide with sodium dodecyl sulphate (NiO/SDS) NPs using solution combustion synthesis SDS is significant in synthesizing nanomaterials that allow control over particle size, shape and stability. They can enhance the performance of nanoscale materials as energy storage materials by improving their electrochemical activity and charge transfer kinetics. The synthesized material’s performance was further characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD), UV–vis spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, scanning electron microscope, energy dispersive spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The typical crystalline sizes of NiO and NiO/SDS nanomaterials were 28 and 22 nm, respectively. XRD analysis reveals that the structure of NiO is FCC. In addition, the electrochemical performance of the active material was investigated in the electrolyte 6M with potassium hydroxide. Accordingly, specific capacitances of NiO and NiO/SDS are observed as 955 and 1024 F g –1 at a 2 mV s –1 scan rate. It was established that NiO/SDS NPs offer considerably superior electrochemical performance due to the surfactant SDS’s inclusion in contrast to NiO NPs.