Electrochemical behavior of cerium (III) hydroxide thin-film electrode in aqueous and non-aqueous electrolyte for supercapacitor applications

Cerium (III) hydroxide, Ce(OH)(3) thin films were synthesized by the simple successive ionic layer adsorption reaction (SILAR) method at room temperature. Their physicochemical properties were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The electrochemical properties of Ce(OH)(3) electrodes for supercapacitors were investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic charge discharge (GCD) analysis in aqueous and non-aqueous electrolytes. The surface morphological studies from SEM depicted that the sponge-like morphology transformed to thread-like structure after potential cycling. The sharp peaks in the FTIR spectrum determined the existence of Ce-O stretching mode. The maximum specific capacitance of electrode material is 78 Fg(-1) and power density is 13.33 KW Kg(-1) in non-aqueous electrolyte. The calculated b value (< 0.5) from cyclic voltammetry indicated the capacitance arrived because of the diffusion control process.