Preparation of Mesoporous Co₃O₄ Nanoparticles via Solid−Liquid Route and Effects of Calcination Temperature and Textural Parameters on Their Electrochemical Capacitive Behaviors

Abstract

Mesoporous Co 3 O 4 nanoparticles with different textural parameters were prepared by using mesoporous silicas, KIT-6 and SBA-15, as templates and Co(NO 3 ) 2 ·6H 2 O as precursor via an improved solid−liquid route. The results of N 2 adsorption−desorption analysis indicated that the calcination temperature did not obviously affect the textural parameters of Co 3 O 4 samples and the BET surface areas of Co 3 O 4 samples could be regulated by different KIT-6 templates. The effects of calcination temperature and textural parameters on the electrochemical capacitive behaviors of Co 3 O 4 samples were discussed. The results of electrochemical tests show the following: the capacitance value of the sample decreases slightly with the increase of the calcination temperature; the BET surface area is the crucial factor for the specific capacitance value; for mesoporous materials, large pore size and high ordering degree of mesopore facilitate ion transfer; and the meso-structure (2D hexagonal structure or 3D Ia 3 d cubic structure) of mesoporous Co 3 O 4 nanoparticles does not obviously affect the specific capacitance value of the samples, but 2D hexagonal mesoporous structure is more advantageous to ion transfer than 3D Ia 3 d cubic mesoporous structure.