Development of chitosan base graphene oxide/ WO3 hybrid composite for supercapacitor application

Abstract

The use of non-renewable energy has brought to serious environmental problems for the planet. The amount of greenhouse gases rose immediately as the combustion of fossil fuels increased. As a result, sea levels are steadily rising and the Earth is becoming warmer. Research on renewable energy sources has been done extensively to provide a solution. However, in order to maximise energy utilisation, renewable energy needs an energy storage system, such as a super capacitor. For the development of sustainable supercapacitors for future energy systems, electrode material is a prospective target. The formation of desired electrode material is essential in order to fabricate supercapacitor with higher power density and longer life cycle than secondary batteries in electronic application. In this study, chitosan (CS) was isolated from crab shells, and graphene oxide (GO) was synthesized using a modified Hummers' process, followed by a chemical reduction approach. Based on the results, the synthesized GO exhibited higher capacitance as compared to GO that synthesized through single-step modified Hummers’ method. Continuous efforts have been exerted to further improve the electrochemical performance of GO/WO3 nanocomposite by incorporating an optimum content of WO3. In this manner, comprehensive investigations on different parameters, such as loadings of ammonium paratungstate (APT), hydrothermal temperature and reaction time were conducted in order to study the formation of GO/WO3 nanocomposite. WO3 and GO/WO3 nanocomposite were successfully synthesized through a simple hydrothermal method.