Investigation on improved stability and electrochemical activity of mixed metal sulfides-based nanocomposites for energy storage applications

ABSTRACT

Poly (3-methylthiophene) (P3MT) was modified by tin disulfide (SnS₂) and zirconium disulfide (ZrS₂) nanoparticles to enhance its electrochemical performance. The surface influence, crystalline structure, and electrochemical performance of the P3MT/SnS₂/ZrS₂ material were characterized and compared with that of pristine P3MT. It is found that surface modification can improve the structural stability of P3MT without decreasing its available specific capacitance. The electrochemical properties of synthesized P3MT/SnS₂/ZrS₂ electrode were evaluated using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and AC impedance techniques in 6 M KOH electrolyte. Specific capacitances of 278, 697, 759, and 1396 F/g were obtained P3MT, P3MT/SnS₂, P3MT/ZrS₂, and P3MT/SnS₂/ZrS₂, respectively, at 1 A/g. This improvement is attributed to the synergistic effect of SnS₂ and ZrS₂ in the P3MT/SnS₂/ZrS₂ electrode material. The P3MT/SnS₂/ZrS₂ electrode in KOH has average specific energy and specific power densities of 951 Wh kg⁻¹ and 5457 W kg⁻¹, respectively. Only 5% of the capacitance’s initial value is lost after 10,000 cycles. The resulting P3MT/SnS₂/ZrS₂ nanocomposite had very stable and porous layered structures. This work demonstrates that P3MT/SnS₂/ZrS₂ nanomaterials exhibit good structural stability and electrochemical performance and are good materials for supercapacitor applications.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

KEYWORDS:

• Electrochemical performance
• energy storage
• nanocomposite
• specific capacitance
• supercapacitor

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Additional information

Funding

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Notes on contributors

Joseph Raj Xavier

Dr. Joseph Raj Xavier is a Professor of Chemistry at Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, SIMATS (DEEMED) University, Chennai. He received his BSc degree in chemistry from Madurai Kamaraj University. Subsequently, he completed his M.Sc. degree in chemistry from the University of Madras and his PhD (2011) in electrochemistry from Anna University, Chennai. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute for Materials Science (NIMS), Japan (2011–2014). His interdisciplinary research areas include the development of functional nanomaterials, polymer nanocomposites for coating, and energy storage systems. He has published more than 100 SCI/Scopus/WoS-indexed articles in international journals. He has been listed as one of the top 2% of scientists worldwide for the years 2021, 2022, and 2023-A survey by Stanford University and Elsevier.