Electrochemical behavior of hydrothermally synthesized porous groundnuts-like samarium oxide thin films

Abstract

One pot hydrothermal method is used for synthesis of groundnuts-like samarium oxide (Sm2O3) thin film on stainless steel substrate. The Sm2O3 film is characterized by X-ray diffraction, water contact angle, UV–visible spectrophotometer, photoluminescence, and field emission scanning electron microscopy techniques. The hydrothermal method allows the formation of cubic Sm2O3 film with porous groundnuts-like morphology. The Sm2O3 film is hydrophilic with the optical band gap of 3.70 eV. Electrochemical capacitive behavior of Sm2O3 film is studied using cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge–discharge measurement and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The Sm2O3 film exhibits maximum specific capacitance of 155 Fg−1 at 5 mVs−1 scan rate in 1 M KOH electrolyte.