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 (C_s) 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.