Morphological Impact of Perovskite-Structured Lanthanum Cobalt Oxide (LaCoO<sub>3</sub>) Nanoflakes Toward Supercapacitor Applications
Kanmani Moorthi, Bharathkumar Sivakumar, Bavatharani Chokkiah, Héctor Váldes, Sakar Mohan
Abstract
In this study, perovskite-structured lanthanum cobalt oxide (LaCoO 3 /LCO) systems with particle and flake morphologies were developed using sol–gel and hydrothermal methods, respectively, in order to investigate their morphological structure-dependent properties for potential supercapacitor applications. The structural analysis confirms that both methods yield LaCoO 3 with improved crystalline properties. The energy storage performance of the developed materials is studied in a three-electrode configuration using a 1 M KOH electrolyte. The results indicated superior electrochemical performance for the LCO nanoflakes, exhibiting specific capacitances of ∼215 F g –1 at a scan rate of 5 mV s –1 and ∼136 F g –1 at a current density of 1 A g –1 . In comparison, the LCO nanoparticles showed ∼119 F g –1 at a scan rate of 5 mV s –1 and ∼99 F g –1 at a current density of 1 A g –1 . This difference can be largely attributed to their respective morphologies, porous structures, and surface defects. Further, the nanoflakes demonstrated an exceptional capacitance retention of ∼97% even after 5000 charge–discharge cycles. The findings of this study suggest that the properties of perovskite LaCoO 3 can be tuned by adjusting its morphology through various synthesis methods, making LaCoO 3 a viable and robust system for energy storage applications.