Prolific intercalation of VO 2 (D)/polypyrrole/g-C 3 N 4 as an energy storing electrode with remarkable capacitance

• Published in: New journal of chemistry 2022-07, Vol.46 (29), p.14251-14266
• Main Authors: Dhanda, Monika, Arora, Rajat, Saini, Meenu, Nehra, S. P., Lata, Suman
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1144-0546; 1369-9261
• DOI: 10.1039/D2NJ02401B

The authors report a fresh synthesis of nanocomposites of VO 2 (D)/polypyrrole/g-C 3 N 4 through in situ chemical oxidation polymerization of pyrrole, utilizing FeCl 3 as an oxidizing agent by varying the weight ratio of VO 2 (D) with a fixed amount of g-C 3 N 4 . In addition, the electrochemical behavior of the synthesized composites was analyzed in 1 M H 2 SO 4 electrolyte with the help of cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge–discharge (GCD), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). According to the statistics of different ratios of VO 2 (D), it plays an indispensable role in the electrochemical properties of the synthesized composites. It has been found that the PGV0.3 sample at a scan rate of 2 mV s −1 shows tremendous specific capacitance of 3263 F g −1 with excellent cycling stability of 99.71% after 2000 cycles, and this value also correlates well with the GCD findings. However, the energy density of PPY at a current density of 0.5 A g −1 is found to be 15.6 W h kg −1 , while that of PGV0.3 is 138.2 W h kg −1 , which is nearly 8.86 times more than the energy density of PPY. The power densities of PPY and PGV0.3 at a current density of 0.5 A g −1 are found to be 151.7 W kg −1 and 218.69 W kg −1 , respectively. The values of solution resistance ( R s ) and charge transfer resistance ( R ct ) of pyrrole and VO 2 (D) are 5.60 Ω and 3.77 Ω, and 0.34 Ω and 0.11 Ω, respectively, while for PGV0.3 they are 1.28 Ω and 0.07 Ω, respectively. In this way, the authors have witnessed a quite appreciable capacitance furnished through the fabricated and optimized PGV0.3 electrode material in three-electrode and two-electrode systems.