Ultrasonic assisted synthesis of nanoporous carbon/CeVO4 nanocomposite for supercapacitor and photocatalytic applications

Abstract

Here, nanoporous carbon (NPC)/CeVO4 nanocomposite synthesized via ultrasonic assisted method for supercapacitor and tartrazine dye degradation application. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) studies confirmed the CeVO4 nanoparticles well embedded on the NPC surface in the NPC/CeVO4 nanocomposite. Spherical shaped CeVO4 nanoparticles are well incorporated on the surface of NPC therefore NPC/CeVO4 nanocomposite which possess a porous-like structure would improve the supercapacitor applications and dye degradation performance. As expected, the specific capacitance (Cs) values (555 F g−1) of NPC/CeVO4 nanocomposite showed enhanced performance as compared to CeVO4 nanoparticles (234 F g−1) at a current density of 1 A g−1 and the capacitance retention of the designed electrode as 95 % after 5000 cycles. The photodegradation of tartrazine dye using pure CeVO4 nanoparticles and NPC/CeVO4 nanocomposite was explored under visible light irradiation. The photocatalytic degradation experiment demonstrated that the NPC/CeVO4 exhibits the maximum degradation efficiency (98.76 %) of the tartrazine with was reached within 120 min. Moreover, the rate constant of NPC/CeVO4 for tartrazine dyes decomposition was 0.0192 min−1 representing that it is two-fold higher than pure CeVO4 (0.0073 min−1). The superior electrochemical and photocatalytic properties of NPC/CeVO4 nanocomposite have been observed due to the well-designed structure and high surface area. Consequently, as-prepared NPC/CeVO4 material could be a promising material for electrochemical supercapacitor and dye degradation of the tartrazine organic pollutant.