Sustainable synthesis of facile Bi2O3-Sb2O4-ZrO nanocomposite as electrode material for energy storage and bifunctional electrocatalyst for energy generation

The current era is marked by the increased demand for lower-cost and sustainable materials such as bifunctional electrocatalysts for energy generation and effective electrodes for energy storage. Herein, a facile ternary AVL.A[Bi2O3-Sb2O4-ZrO] nanocomposite has been phyto-synthesized from Amaranthus Viridis L. amaranthaceae plant (abbreviated as AVL.A) as an electroactive material for water splitting and supercapacitor. The characterization of phyto-synthesized AVL.A[Bi2O3-Sb2O4-ZrO] nanocomposite shows well-defined nano-scale structures and phases of ternary metal oxides. The chemical composition also reveals the presence of carbon-based phyto-organic functional groups as stabilizing agents in AVL.A[Bi2O3-Sb2O4-ZrO] nanocomposite. The supercapacitive behavior of AVL.A[Bi2O3-Sb2O4-ZrO] nanocomposite is examined and revealed 514 F/g specific capacitance at 2 mV/s and 441 F/g is observed at 1 A/g. The enhanced energy density of 18 Wh/kg is determined for AVL.A[Bi2O3-Sb2O4-ZrO] with 99 % Coulombic efficiency till 5 K GCD cycles. These results indicate the superior performance of AVL.A[Bi2O3-Sb2O4-ZrO] for energy storage supercapacitors. The overall electrocatalytic performance of AVL.A[Bi2O3-Sb2O4-ZrO] for HER and OER indicates overpotentials of 224 mV and 390 mV with Tafel slope of 112 mV/dec and 109 mV/dec respectively. Thus, AVL.A[Bi2O3-Sb2O4-ZrO] requires a lower overpotential of 224 mV and 390 mV to generate a current density of 10 mA/cm2 for HER and OER respectively. Furthermore, AVL.A[Bi2O3-Sb2O4-ZrO] exhibits excellent durability and stability as a bifunctional electrocatalyst and supercapacitor electrode. Schematic representation of AVL assisted Bi2O3-Sb2O4-ZrO electrode [Display omitted] •AVL.A Bi2O3-Sb2O4-ZrO nanocomposite is produced by phytosynthesis•Characterized nanoscale phases with phyto-organic stabilizers based on carbon•Specific capacitances of 514 F/g at 2 mV/s and 441 F/g at 1 A/g were attained•18 Wh/Kg of increased energy density and an improved 99 % Coulombic efficiency•An outstanding stability in its role as a supercapacitor electrode