Exploring the role of additives in modulating the electrochemical characteristics of NiCo2O4 electrode materials
Date Issued
2025
Author(s)
Kavinkumar, Thangavelu
Ayyaru, Sivasankaran
Rednam, Udayabhaskar
Alagarasan, Jagadeesh Kumar
Chidhambaram, Natarajan
Dineshbabu, Nagarajan
Mangalaraja, Ramalinga Viswanathan
Arun, Thirumurugan
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nxener.2025.100393
Abstract
In this study, NiCo₂O₄-based electrode materials (NiCo<inf>2</inf>O<inf>4</inf>-B, NiCo<inf>2</inf>O<inf>4</inf>-P, NiCo<inf>2</inf>O<inf>4</inf>-O, and NiCo<inf>2</inf>O<inf>4</inf>-E) were successfully synthesized using a facile chemical oxidation method, incorporating different additives such as polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), oleylamine, and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). All samples exhibited hexagonal platelet morphology, with NiCo₂O₄-E showing a more porous structure. Electrochemical evaluation in a three-electrode system revealed battery-type behavior with prominent redox peaks. NiCo₂O₄-E delivered the highest specific capacitance of 2254 F/g at 1 mV/s, outperforming the other variants (NiCo₂O₄-B: 1201 F/g, NiCo₂O₄-P: 1529 F/g, NiCo₂O₄-O: 1606 F/g). GCD studies confirmed its high capacity of 700 C/g at 1 A/g. Transatti analysis indicated dominant inner-surface charge contribution (93.3%), and the material exhibited the highest active site density (9.76 × 1018). Although NiCo₂O₄-E retained 60% of its capacity after 5000 cycles, all samples showed nearly 100% coulombic efficiency. To evaluate practical applicability, a two-electrode solid-state asymmetric supercapacitor was fabricated using NiCo₂O₄-E as the positive electrode and activated carbon as the negative electrode. The device showed clear redox peaks in the CV profiles (0.0–1.5 V) and delivered stable GCD behavior up to 3 A/g. Notably, it retained 96% of its initial capacitance after 10,000 cycles at 3 A/g, with a consistent coulombic efficiency of 96%. Post-cycling EIS analysis confirmed improved charge transfer characteristics. These findings demonstrate that the EDTA-assisted NiCo₂O₄-E electrode exhibits excellent electrochemical performance and long-term cycling stability, making it a promising candidate for high-performance energy storage devices. © 2025 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.


