Author(s):
Shubham Mural, Shweta Tanwar, Anjali, Nirbhay Singh, Ramesh Kumar, Anurag Gaur

Abstract:
Driven by the rising energy consumption throughout the world, there is an urgent demand for highly efficient energy storage devices. Zinc Oxide, due to its cost-effective and environmentally friendly nature, shows a promising future in this direction. However, its practical application is hindered by its low electrical conductivity, leading to poor electrochemical performance. To increase the energy storage capacity of ZnO, this study designs a Zinc Oxide/ Carbon Black (Zn/CB) nanocomposite electrode. The Zn/CB nanocomposite electrode exhibited a remarkable increase in the specific capacitance (Sc) as compared to the pristine ZnO. It increased from 128 F g-1 (ZnO) to 375 F g-1 (Zn/CB) @ 10 mV s-1 scan rate. GCD analysis confirms this, showing an increase from 15 F g-1 (ZnO) to 183 F g-1 (Zn/CB) @ 4 A g-1. Crucially, the composite displays exceptional cyclic stability by showing capacitance retention of 145% and coulombic retention of 94% after 3000 cycles @ 15 A g-1. This finding demonstrates that the integration of carbon black with the Zinc Oxide substantially enhances its electrochemical performance, positioning the ZnO/CB nanocomposite electrode as a cost-effective, high-performance, nature-friendly electrode for energy storage systems.

Pages: 919-927

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