Polyethylene glycol mediated synthesis of iron vanadate (FeVO4) nanoparticles with supercapacitive features

Abstract

Binary transition metal oxides, such as iron vanadate (FeVO4), possess unleashed potential to be the best electrode material for supercapacitor, owing to their high capacitance, stability and conductivity. This present work reports investigations on the influence of a surfactant, polyethylene glycol (PEG 4000), on the structure, morphology and electrochemical behaviour of FeVO4 nanoparticles. The P4-FeVO4exhibited specific capacitance of 428.0 Fg-1 at a current density of 2.0 Ag-1, and arguably better performance and cyclic stability than FeVO4 synthesised without PEG 4000.Thus, PEG 4000 significantly influenced the morphological and electrochemical performance of the FeVO4. Further, this work reports the performance of capacitor devices assembled with the FeVO4 synthesised using PEG 4000 (P4-FeVO4) as electrodes. Furthermore, the assembled P4-FeVO4 based symmetric capacitor device had a specific capacitance of 101.0 Fg-1 with an energy density of 14.1 Whkg-1. This improved electrochemical performance of the P4-FeVO4-based devices is attributed to the physicochemical properties of P4-FeVO4 nanoparticles, mediated by the PEG 4000.