Facile fabrication of NbTe2 doped with Ag via hydrothermal route for approaching the high performance toward supercapacitor applications

Abstract

Energy crisis and greenhouse effects are reaching alarming levels, the development of active materials that are both environment friendly and economically viable is essential for energy storing technologies. Currently, supercapacitors (SC_s) are a best type of energy storage devices that attained significant attention from scientists. The fabrication of composites using transition metal with chalcogenides possessed high specific capacitance, structural integrity, maximum energy efficiency, low cost, higher power density and energy density. The hydrothermal route was utilized to developed niobium telluride (NbTe₂) and silver-doped niobium telluride (Ag-NbTe₂). The Ag-NbTe₂ nanoflakes were examined through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to identify structural morphology of NbTe₂ nanoparticles incorporated inside transition metal (Ag) which demonstrated the nanoflakes morphology. The increased surface area of Ag-NbTe₂ was confirmed through the BET as computed value of pristine NbTe₂ was 21 cm² g⁻¹ and with silver doped (Ag-NbTe₂) was 51 cm² g⁻¹. The examination on energy storing devices by using 3 M KOH electrolyte to conduct electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), galvanic charge–discharge and cyclic voltammetry experiments. Moreover, the fabricated material Ag-NbTe₂ nanoflakes displayed exceptional charge–discharge cycling characteristics, with specific capacitance (C_s) 1774 F g⁻¹ at current density (j_d) 1 A g⁻¹. By analyzing the EIS graph successfully identified the solution resistance (R_s) as 2.34 Ω with charge transfer resistance (R_ct) as 0.77 Ω. Further, results of our research provide a cost-efficient, highly effective and easily expandable approach for producing nanocomposites by hydrothermal techniques. This fabricated material exhibited enhanced electrochemical performance, making them highly suitable for utilization in supercapacitors (SC_s) and other energy storage devices.