Phytogenic Cu2OBi2O3ZrO2 nanomaterial for supercapacitor and water splitting: Synthesis, characterization, and energy applications

Abstract

Copper-based nanocomposites are regarded as sustainable energy materials having tremendous potential for energy storage supercapacitors and energy generation water splitting applications. Herein, a facile Cu-based ternary Cu2OBi2O3ZrO2 nanocomposite is prepared by a sustainable, lower-cost, and simple hydrothermal-based phyto-synthesis route by using Amaranthus Viridis L. amaranthaceae plant (abbreviated as AVL.A). The synthesized AVL.A-Cu2OBi2O3ZrO2 nanocomposite is characterized by powder-X-ray diffraction and FE-Scanning electron microscopy for its phase composition and surface morphology. The electrochemical efficiency of AVL.A-Cu2OBi2O3ZrO2 nanocomposite is investigated for supercapacitors and overall water splitting. The fabricated Cu2OBi2O3ZrO2 nanocomposite-based Nickel foam (NF) electrode shows superior performance with a specific capacitance of 524.5 F/g at 2 mV/s and 400 F/g at 1 A/g. The excellent rate capability is observed at scan rates from 2 mv/s to 300 mV/s and at current densities from 0.5 A/g to 30 A/g for AVL.A-Cu2OBi2O3ZrO2–NF. Furthermore, fabricated AVL.A-Cu2OBi2O3ZrO2–NF shows excellent electrochemical stability with 100% Coulombic efficiency till 5000 charge-discharge cycles. As bifunctional electrocatalyst AVL.A-Cu2OBi2O3ZrO2–NF electrode exhibits 117 mV overpotential at 10 mA/cm2 current density for HER kinetics along with 112 mV/dec Tafel slope values. The same Tafel slope value is also observed for OER measurements. These values of overpotential and Tafel slope for AVL.A-Cu2OBi2O3ZrO2–NF suggest a rapid and efficient electrochemical process of AVL.A-Cu2OBi2O3ZrO2–NF bifunctional electrocatalyst for energy generation. Overall study highly proposed AVL.A-Cu2OBi2O3ZrO2–NF as the potential electrode for energy storage supercapacitor and energy generation overall water splitting.