Simple and direct synthesis of ZnO decorated multi-walled carbon nanotube for supercapacitor electrodes

In this work, ZnO decorated multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWNT) composites were prepared using simple solution method in the presence of multi-walled carbon nanotube. The characteristics of the ZnO/MWNT composites were studied, and the formation of well-distributed ZnO nanoparticles on MWNT was verified by the characterization of the synthesized composites. Investigations of the electrochemical properties of the ZnO/MWNT composites such as the cyclic voltammetry, and cycle tests were conducted along with comparison of the results with those of pristine MWNT electrode. The anchoring ZnO nanoparticles on MWNT significantly improved the electrochemical properties of pristine MWNT. The results suggested that the decoration of ZnO material was a promising strategy for the improvement of electrochemical properties of MWNT. The specific capacitance of the HMT/ZnO@MWNT composites was 40F/g, and this was more than a four-fold increase compared with the pristine MWNT. Furthermore, the prepared electrode materials showed good long-term stability during repeated cycles and the absence of any decay for more than 1000 cycles.