Sol-gel synthesis of DyFeO3/CuO nanocomposite using Capsicum Annuum extract: Fabrication, structural analysis, and assessing the impacts of g-C3N4 on electrochemical hydrogen storage behavior

Abstract

Nano-sized DyFeO3/CuO composites were fabricated via a green pechini sol-gel route using Capsicum annuum L. extract as a natural chelating agent. Capsicum annuum L. chelating agent contains a set of environmentally friendly biomolecules, which control the nucleus and the growth of formed crystals by creating a space barrier around the cations, and ultimately preventing the accumulation of nano-products. Changing of parameters in synthesis reaction consisting of chelating agents (natural and chemical) and calcination temperature, for its part, offer a righteous grip on the nano-composites dimension and morphology which pure DyFeO3/CuO nano-composites attained. The as-prepared DyFeO3/CuO nanostructures were investigated through Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), BET, vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), and energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis in terms of structure, uniformity, porosity, shape, and size. The effect of adding CuO and graphite carbon nitride (g-C3N4) nanostructures was evaluated on discharge capacity and cyclic voltammetry methods. The attained DyFeO3/CuO/g-C3N4 nano-products could be utilized as a promising new nanocomposite for electrochemical hydrogen storage. It was found that DyFeO3/CuO/g-C3N4 nanocomposites have a special hydrogen storage accomplishment due to the synergistic effects of CuO and g-C3N4 components, which can increase the storage capability to 1600 mAhg−1 after 20 cycles by facilitating the hydrogen charge-discharge process.