Synergistic effect in XMoO₄ (X: Ni, Zn) nanorods derived from 2D molybdenum-based metal-organic frameworks boosting supercapacitive performance

We present a novel approach for synthesizing XMoO₄ (X: Ni, Zn) using metal–organic frameworks as templates. Our findings reveal orthorhombic structure of MoO₃ converted to triclinic and monoclinic crystalline phases for ZnMoO₄ and NiMoO₄, respectively. XMoO₄ nanorods have higher band gap than MoO₃, with an optical band gap range of 3.20–3.80 eV. The specific surface area was estimated to be 27.6, 44.7 and 63.6 m² g⁻¹ for MoO₃, ZnMoO₄, and NiMoO₄, respectively. Electrochemical results demonstrated that Ni²⁺ and Zn²⁺ incorporation improved the supercapacitive performance of MoO₃ and MOF-derived NiMoO₄ nanorods disclosed superior specific capacitance of 2302.5 F g⁻¹ at 1 A g⁻¹ with cycling stability of 93% after 5000 cycles. A maximum energy density of 66.4 Wh kg⁻¹ at 749.3 W kg⁻¹ was achieved for NiMoO₄//AC ASC. The research established that NiMoO₄ nanorods have considerable potential for supercapacitor devices.