SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF 2-D MXENE AND ITS COMPOSITES WITH ZnSe and rGO FOR WATER SPLITTING AND SUPERCAPACITOR APPLICATIONS

Abstract

The efficient utilization of green and non-renewable energy sources requires the development of energy storage devices with high energy density, power density, and prolonged cycling stability. Over the last decade, 2-D MXene based materials are being extensively used in energy storage devices such as supercapacitors and lithium-ion batteries. In this research, the hydrothermal synthesis of composites of 2-D Ti3CNTx MXene with ZnSe nanoparticles and rGO was reported. The Ti3CNTx @ ZnSe and Ti3CNTx @ rGO nanocomposites were successfully synthesized and characterized by FTIR, p-XRD, SEM, and EDS. The synthesized materials were tested for their electrochemical activity towards supercapacitors by CV, GCD, and EIS. The excellent specific capacity of 375F g-1 at the current density of 1 A g-1 with ~53% coulombic efficiency was shown by Ti3CNTx @ ZnSe (1:1) nanocomposite. The Ti3CNTx @ rGO nanocomposite also shows a good specific capacity of ~115 F g-1 at the current density of 1 A g-1 with coulombic efficiency of ~80%. The synthesized materials were also tested for OER. The best results were obtained for Ti3CNTx @ ZnSe (1:1) nanocomposite which shows an overpotential of 226 mV at the current density of 20 mA cm-2. The chronoamperometric test at an applied potential of 0.6V shows that Ti3CNTx @ ZnSe (1:1) nanocomposite has good stability as it retained almost 71% of current after 24h. Overall the Ti3CNTx @ ZnSe (1:1) nanocomposite can be applied as an electrode material of supercapacitors for commercial applications.