CuFe2O4/GNPs nanocomposites for symmetric supercapacitors and photocatalytic applications

Abstract

The design of novel and highly efficient multifunctional nanocomposite materials has attracted great attention due to the materials’ applications in supercapacitors and wastewater treatment. In this work, CuFe2O4 (CuF) nanoparticle and graphene nanoplatelet nanocomposites ((CuF)1−x (GNPs) x ) have been fabricated by an in situ coprecipitation technique. The prepared (CuF)1−x (GNPs) x nanocomposites exhibit high energy storage (264.0 F g−1) with appreciable cyclic durability (74% over 1000 cycles), in a symmetric two-electrode supercapacitor cell, which can be attributed to the GNPs’ induced conductivity enhancement, reduced agglomeration of CuF nanoparticles, interfacial transfer of charge and Fe–O–C and Cu–O–C covalent bonds in the nanocomposites. These factors also play a central role in increasing the photocatalytic efficiency. The nanocomposites show excellent visible light-mediated photodegradation efficiency (99.1% in 160 min) for methylene blue in water solution. The results suggest that the synthesized nanocomposites could be potential materials for the storage of electrochemical energy and photocatalytic decontamination of wastewater.