Fabrication of polythiophene/graphitic carbon nitride/V2O5 nanocomposite for high-performance supercapacitor electrode

Abstract

In this study, an in-situ oxidation polymerization approach and a surface adsorption procedure were combined to create a polythiophene/graphitic carbon nitride (GCN)/vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) (PTh/GCN/V2O5) nanocomposite. Investigations were made on the nanomorphology and crystal structure of PTh, PTh/GCN, PTh/V2O5, and PTh/GCN/V2O5. The main objective of this investigation is to evaluate the electrochemical performance of the developed PTh/GCN/V2O5 electrode for supercapacitor application using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and AC impedance techniques in 3 M KOH electrolyte. The PTh/GCN/V2O5 nanocomposite's average crystallite size is 50 nm. The PTh/GCN/V2O5 has a network of agglomerated GCN and V2O5 nanoparticles with extra spherical forms that are associated to PTh. Their absorption intensities improve with the creation of the PTh/GCN/V2O5 nanocomposite. The specific capacitance of PTh/GCN/V2O5 in 3 M KOH was determined to be 720 F/g at a current density of 5 A/g. The PTh/GCN/V2O5 electrode in KOH has average specific energy and specific power densities of 32 Wh kg−1 and 3291 W kg−1, respectively. Only 4 % of the capacitance's initial value is lost after 5000 cycles. The results demonstrate the PTh/GCN/V2O5 electrode utilised in supercapacitors' exceptional stability and efficient functioning.