Copper Hydroxide Porous Nanotube Arrays Grown on Copper Foils as High-Performance Integrated Electrodes for Supercapacitors

Large-area and uniform copper hydroxide (CH) nanotubes (NT) were synthesized on copper foils via facile treatment in alkaline solution. The CHNT, consisting of porous walls, were vertically grown on the Cu foils, and their morphology can be readily controlled by adjusting the reaction time. The prepared three-dimensional (3D) CHNT/Cu composites were employed as electrodes for supercapacitors (SCs). A substantial improvement in the electrochemical performance has been observed for the 3D CHNT/Cu electrodes over the CH nanorods (NR)/Cu and nanobundles (NB)/Cu electrodes. Their areal capacitance is as high as 278 mF cm−2 and 216 mF cm−2 at a current density of 1 mA cm−2 and 10 mA cm−2, respectively, and they exhibit excellent stability with about 90.5% maintenance of initial specific capacitance at a constant current density of 5 mA cm−2 after 1000 cycles.