Synthesis and electrochemical behavior of nanostructured cauliflower-shape Co–Ni/Co–Ni oxides composites

Nanostructured Co-Ni/Co-Ni oxides were electrochemically deposited onto stainless steel electrode by electrochemical method and characterized for their structural and supercapacitive properties. The SEM images indicated that the obtained Co-Ni/Co-Ni oxides had cauliflower-type nanostructure. The X-ray diffraction pattern showed the formation of Co{sub 3}O{sub 4}, NiO, Co and Ni. The EDX elemental mapping images indicated that Ni, Co and O are distributed uniformly. The deposited Co-Ni/Co-Ni oxides showed good supercapacitive characteristics with a specific capacitance of 331 F/g at 1 mA/cm{sup 2} current density in 1 M KOH electrolyte. A mechanism of the formation of cauliflower-shape Co-Ni/Co-Ni oxides was proposed. A variety of promising applications in the fields such as energy storage devices and sensors can be envisioned from Co-Ni/Co-Ni oxides.