Cubic-architectured tungsten sulfide @ Cu-Fe bimetallic electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells, hybrid supercapacitors, and piezoelectric nanogenerators

Abstract

Designing an efficient multifunctional electrode material for energy conversion, generation, and storage application was cutting-edge in energy research for the advanced integrated device. In that view, WS2 @CuFe nano box composites were constructed using the Kirkendall effect and employed as the electrode in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), asymmetric supercapacitors (ASC), and piezoelectric nanogenerators (PENG). The WS2 @CuFe − 2 nano boxes were employed as the counter electrode in DSSC and attained a power conversion efficiency of 5.4%, surpassing the performance of platinum counter electrode device (4.4%). In ASC, benefiting from the nano box morphology, the intensive utilization of surface area by electrolytes, and the synergistic contribution of WS2 @CuFe − 2 nano box results in an outstanding specific capacitance of 467 F/g at 1 A/g current density. The WS2 @CuFe − 2 //AC device owing to the induced surface area provides a high energy density of 44.45 Wh/kg and a high-power density of 1420 W/kg with columbic efficiency of 98.62%. The PENG was investigated for practical application by applying an external compression force of 50 N, which delivered an impressive self-charging potential of 167 mV generated by the piezoelectric compartment. The results prove the comprehensive application of WS2 @CuFe nano boxes serving as the all-in-one electrode for constructing sophisticated neoteric electronic devices.