Dual functional Zn-doped BaO microrods for photocatalysis and supercapacitor applications
摘要
Humanity faces significant challenges related to water pollution and energy storage, prompting scientists to develop multifunctional materials. In this context, metal oxide materials have gained considerable attention for their potential applications in photocatalytic activities and energy storage due to their chemical stability, and modifiable structural, electrochemical, and biodegradable characteristics. In this research work, the authors report the synthesis of zinc-doped barium oxide microrods (Zn-BaO MRs) using a facile co-precipitation method. The prepared material exhibits exceptional photocatalytic properties and works as an efficient electrode material for energy storage devices. The morphological, structural, and optical properties were analyzed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, and UV–visible spectrophotometry. Photocatalytic experiments showed that the optimized material (5% Zn-doped BaO MRs) degraded 94.38% of ciprofloxacin (CIP) after 90 min, 96.97% of rhodamine B (RhB) after 80 min, 99.48% of methylene orange (MO) after 60 min, and 98.70% of methyl blue (MB) after 70 min under UV light illumination. The optimized material exhibited remarkable electrochemical performance analyzed by CV exhibiting an exceptional specific capacitance of 1198 Fg−1 at 0.1 mVs−1, and GCD curves showed an impressive specific capacitance of 1066 Fg−1 at 3 Ag−1 within an energy density of 37 Whkg−1, and power density of 690 Wkg−1. This fabrication of a dual-functional optimized sample (5% Zn-doped BaO MRs) is highly efficient and ideal in energy storage application and environmental protection applications due to their remarkable electrochemical and photocatalytic properties.