Electrochemical characteristics of copper oxide nanoparticles synthesized by solution combustion method with controlled morphology

Copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles were obtained under solution combustion conditions using glycine as an organic fuel and a chelating agent at different redox ratios (f = 0.2, 1.0, and 1.6). The obtained powders were thermally treated at 300 ◦C for 30 min and characterized by Thermogravimetry differential thermal analysis (DTA/TG), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), and atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). The electrochemical characteristics were determined by cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The average crystallite sizes and specific surface areas of the obtained samples varied in the range from 4.8 to 18.6 nm and 14.4 to 78.4 m 2 /g. The largest specific surface area corresponds to the sample synthesized at f = 0.2, which also has the smallest particle size (4.8 nm). The electrochemical behavior of copper oxide nanopowders depends significantly on structural and morphological features. The excellent specific capacity of the microstructure of the CuO sample synthesized at a significant fuel deficiency (f = 0.2) is explained by its large surface area and large pore radius.