Deoxyribonucleic acid scaffolded and encapsulated one-dimensional gadolinium(III) hydroxide nanorods for supercapacitors and oxygen evaluation reaction properties

Fabricating advanced nanomaterials with multiple functionalities is an intriguing approach to leveraging clean and sustainable energy technologies. The study elucidates the scaffold and encapsulation capabilities of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), demonstrating the influence of different DNA concentrations on the structural and electrochemical properties of Gd(OH)₃ nanorods. As evidence of concept application, the optimal Gd(OH)₃-DNA-60 electrode delivers a specific capacity of 346 C g⁻¹ (576.6 F g⁻¹) at 1 A g⁻¹ and a high rate capability. Interestingly, it provides superior cyclic stability with 98% initial capacity retention after 5000 charge/discharge cycles at 20 A g⁻¹. The Gd(OH)₃-DNA-60//activated carbon (AC) asymmetric device delivers the specific capacity of 151 C g⁻¹ (107.8 F g⁻¹) at 1 A g⁻¹ with a cell voltage of 1.4 V. It provides the energy and power densities of 29.3 and 799.6 W kg⁻¹, respectively, and withstands 95% of initial capacity after 10,000 cycles at 10 A g⁻¹. In OER analysis, increasing DNA concentration lowers overpotential, Tafel slope, and resistance while enhancing ECSA characteristics. After the stability studies, the physicochemical experiments confirmed the structural stability of the composite material. The results indicate that the proposed approach is a significant method to tune structures and improve the electrochemical properties of nanomaterials for future energy storage and conversion applications.