Fabrication of spinel SrBi2O4 nanomaterials anchored on g-C3N4 nanosheets with enhanced performance of electrode material for energy storage application

Abstract

Graphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) material with a similar structural phase to graphite opens new opportunities in energy conversion storage systems. The g-C3N4 sheets offered many defected sites that enhanced the adsorption and diffusion of electrolyte ions. High nitrogen concentration in g-C3N4 was ideal for increasing the binding energy between metals and carbon. The stability of pseudo-active metal oxides/chalcogenides supported by carbon results in improved capacitive performance. This study used a hydrothermal route to fabricate binary SrBi2O4/g-C3N4 composite onto g-C3N4 sheets. The SrBi2O4/g-C3N4 nanocomposite was characterized through various techniques including different analytical analyses. Among all evaluated electrodes for the electrochemical experiment binary composite SrBi2O4/g-C3N4 demonstrated the highest electrochemical activity and showed the capacitive of 777.2 F g−1 at 1 A g−1. Moreover, binary composite SrBi2O4/g-C3N4 was shown to have a lesser charge transfer resistance (Rct) of 0.87 Ω as compared to other bare fabricated materials. The exceptional electrochemical capability of SrBi2O4/g-C3N4 can be due to the combined effect of SrBi2O4 and g-C3N4 which included various redox state enhanced electrode wettability and superior structural and chemical stability. The composite material shows excellent power and high energy density of 319.95 W Kg−1 and 44.20 Wh Kg−1. Based on the findings our study suggested a practical approach to fabricated hybrid electrode materials that have optimum properties for use in energy storage devices in future supercapacitors.