Synthesis of ZnO and NiO nano ceramics composite high-performance supercapacitor and its catalytic capabilities

Abstract

NiO and ZnO mixed nanocomposites were manufactured using the solution combustion process. As-prepared samples were analyzed using XRD. The XRD shows an average crystallite size of 35–40 nm. The elemental composition determined by EDS indicates a nearly equal proportion of Ni and Zn, with an atomic ratio of Ni/Zn = 0.96. The specific capacitances of NiO is 295.5 Fg-1, ZnO is 117.3 Fg-1 and ZnO/NiO nanocomposites is 561.75 Fg-1 which are more than NiO and ZnO alone. This study shows that constructing binary oxide nanocomposites is an approach for developing high-performance supercapacitor electrode materials. Experimental observations on catalytic activity revealed that NiO/ZnO increased catalytic activity. Furthermore, adding NiO to ZnO in the composite increased the overall amount of oxygen vacancies in the samples. Our research lays the door for a simple, inexpensive, nontoxic, and quick technique to synthesize binary transition metal oxide-based electrode materials for high-performance supercapacitors.