Synthesis of ultra-long boron nanowires as supercapacitor electrode material

The aim of the present study was to examine the electrochemical performance of boron nanowires (BNWs) grown using the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) growth mechanism in the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) system at 1200 °C on a silicon wafer in the presence of iron (Fe) catalyst nanodroplets as a supercapacitor electrode material in 1 M Na2SO4 aqueous electrolyte solution. The structure and morphology of BNWs were examined using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM) analyses, while their electrochemical performances were determined by measuring the cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge–discharge (GCD), and electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS). BNWs showed great cycle stability with an areal capacitance of 30 mF cm−2 and 93.4% of the initial areal capacitance even after a 10,000 GCD cycle at a current density of 0.1 mA cm−2. © 2019 Elsevier B.V.