PANI MWCNT incorporated CuO based nanocomposite hybrid systems for energy storage applications

Abstract

Development of a cost-effective and an efficient electrode material through a facile and intuitive synthesis route is one of the key points of contention in the area of supercapacitors. This thesis mainly concentrated on the synthesis and characterizations of CuO and PANI/MWCNT incorporated CuO-based nanocomposite hybrid electrode materials. CuO nanostructures are synthesised via a hassle-free hydrothermal method. On the other hand, the PANI/MWCNT incorporated CuO-based ternary/quaternary nanocomposite material is prepared using a one pot chemical oxidative polymerisation method carried out at room temperature, followed by a freeze-drying stage. The crystalline and microstructural, morphological and elemental, thermal properties of the synthesised nanocomposite materials are investigated in detail. Moreover, a comprehensive evaluation is conducted in order to investigate the influence of the transitional metal oxides such as NiO, Co3O4and ZnMn>0y4 in the electrochemical performance of the ternary CuO/PANI/MWCNT nanocomposite hybrid system. In-depth attention is given to the synergistic interactions between the constituents of composite electrodes that have a crucial role in their electrochemical performance for energy storage applications in terms of specific capacitance, energy density, power density, cyclic stability and rate capacity.