ZnCo2O4 nanowire arrays grown on nickel foam for high-performance pseudocapacitors

Uniform ZnCo2O4 nanowire arrays were directly grown on nickel foam through a facile hydrothermal method and subsequent thermal treatment process. The ZnCo2O4 nanowires have diameters of about 100 nm and lengths of up to 5 mm. The as-obtained ZnCo2O4 nanowire array loaded nickel foam can be directly applied as an electrode for high-performance supercapacitors. Electrochemical measurements show that the ZnCo2O4/nickel foam electrode has high specific capacitance (1625 F g(-1) at 5 A g(-1)), excellent rate capability (59% capacitance retention at 80 A g (-1)) and good cycling stability (94% capacitance retention over 5000 charge-discharge cycles). This work demonstrates that ZnCo2O4 nanowires are highly desirable for application as advanced electrochemical electrode materials.