Investigation of hybrid nanostructure based on nanorods vanadium pentoxide/mesoporous silicon as electrode materials for electrochemical supercapacitor

Here, the development and characterization of mesoporous silicon nanostructure (mPSi) coated with nanorods vanadium pentoxide (NV2O5) thin layer for their uses as electrode materials for electrochemical supercapacitor (SC) were investigated. The mPSi was prepared by electrochemical anodization at a constant current density and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Whereas, NV2O5 thin layer was deposited into mPSi employing Joule effect vacuum evaporation technique. NV2O5/mPSi structure was subjected to rapid thermal annealing (RTA) under oxygen atmosphere. The physico-chemical proprieties, morphology, structural, surface area and wettability of this structure were analyzed by FTIR, SEM, XRD, BET and contact angle measurement, respectively. A promising structure for electrochemical supercapacitor application with good characteristics, such as porous surface and hydrophilic nature, was obtained. Furthermore, the electrochemical properties were examined in aqueous electrolyte 1 M Na2SO4 by means cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge–discharge (GCD) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). As a result, the NV2O5/mPSi electrode displayed a specific capacitance of 2.7 mF/g at a current density 0.04 mA/g and a superior cycling stability upon 12,000 cycles at a current density of a 0.5 mA/g with 82% capacity retention.