Electrochemical measurement of ruthenium oxide quantum dots synthesized at room temperature

Abstract

Electrochemical energy storage has evolved into one of the most significant areas of current research to meet the escalating energy demands of contemporary society. Apart from the depletion of conventional sources of energy, the emission of hazardous chemicals is dangerous to the environment and human health as well. Among various electrochemical energy storage systems, the supercapacitor is emerging rapidly because of its elevated lifetime, flexibility, and light weight in various industrial areas. Ruthenium oxide (RuO2) is one of the most promising nanomaterials, with several applications in catalysts, sensors, microelectronics and other fields. Among numerous applications, ruthenium oxide is considered a promising candidate for electrode material for supercapacitors owing to its fast redox kinetics, low resistivity and high thermal and mechanical stabilities. Nowadays, researchers are increasingly turning to the biosynthesis of nanoparticles in order to establish clean, economical, and efficient synthesis techniques. In the present report, we have mycologically synthesised RuO2 quantum dots (RuO2 QDs), and different characterization techniques have been employed for the conformational nature of the quantum dots. Further, electrochemical studies have investigated the electrochemical potential of the mycologically synthesised RuO2 QDs utilising cyclic voltammetric measurements. The specific capacitance of RuO2 QDs coated on carbon cloth electrodes was 230 Fg−1 at a scan rate of 5.0 Ag−1 and the capacitance retention was found to be 95.8 % at the end of the 1000th charge-discharge cycle. The working electrodes derived from RuO2 QDs has rendered corrosion resistance in H2SO4 up to 0.16 M. A working model is also put to the test to find out the feasibility of QDs in practical application.