Microporous carbon nanoplate/amorphous ruthenium oxide hybrids as supercapacitor electrodes

In this study, microporous carbon nanoplate (MCN)/ruthenium oxide (RuO₂) hybrid electrodes were fabricated by a facile sol-gel method. The annealing temperature of RuO₂ was varied to optimize the electrochemical performance. The hybrid electrodes were designed to be covered with hybrid networks of RuO₂ nanoparticles and anchored MCNs. The nanostructured MCN/RuO₂ hybrids showed a high specific surface area of 1044.6 m²/g and a Ru particle size of about 3 nm. The prepared MCNs showed a number of microporous structures for electric-double-layer-capacitor-induced capacitance. In addition, the incorporation of RuO₂ on the MCNs considerably improved the specific capacitance by inducing pseudocapacitive behavior. The electrochemical performance of the MCN/RuO₂ hybrid electrodes was calculated using cyclic voltammograms, which revealed a specific capacitance of 458 F/g and good cyclic stability over 1,000 cycles.