Synthesis and characterization of Pd-doped perovskite/Vulcan XC-72 carbon nanocomposite for sustainable supercapacitor technology

Abstract

Due to the lower equivalent series resistance compared to other types of energy storage devices, supercapacitor electrodes can therefore be an ideal choice for energy storage. In this study, a perovskite-based metallic compound, La0.6Sr0.4Fe0.9Pd0.1O3 was synthesized by the sol-gel method and combined with carbon Vulcan XC-72 to create an effective nanocomposite-based modifier for the development of mini supercapacitor. Morphological studies of the obtained compounds were carried out using a variety of characterization techniques including X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDX), Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM) and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy analysis (XPS). On the other hand, the electrochemical feasibility of the synthesized nanocomposite and the developed La0.6Sr0.4Fe0.9Pd0.1O3/Vulcan XC-72 -based supercapacitor was demonstrated by applying various approaches including cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge/discharge (GCD), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The La0.6Sr0.4Fe0.9Pd0.1O3/Vulcan XC-72 shows the highest specific capacitance (329 F/g) with a power density of 750 W/kg and an energy density of 4.8 Wh/kg at a current density of 0.01 mA/g. In order to evaluate the stability of the designed supercapacitor, long charge/discharge cycles were also carried out. After 5000 charge/discharge cycles, the specific capacity reached about 76.47% of its original value. The present results show that the La0.6Sr0.4Fe0.9Pd0.1O3/Vulcan XC-72 nanocomposite can be efficiently used as a potential material for energy storage, which may be promising for the future.