Biocompatible supercapacitor electrodes using green synthesised ZnO/Polymer nanocomposites for efficient energy storage applications

In the era of rapid decline of renewable sources of energy, novel supercapacitor materials are essential to provide impetus to the growing energy demands arising from the commercialization of technology towards an electric-powered future which aims at both efficient and sustainable use of energy. The inspiration is to develop materials that effect specific applications without causing any damage to the environment. The use of inherently non-conducting but biocompatible polymers that can be functionally modified are thus imperative in this respect. Here, styrene maleic anhydride (SMA) copolymer has been structurally modified with a thiadiazole moiety along with the incorporation of green synthesized ZnO nanoparticles to prepare a polymer nanocomposite. The green synthesized ZnO nanoparticles display a flake-like structure with a size of about 20 nm. UV, FT-IR and XRD analyses validates the incorporation of ZnO in to the polymer matrix to form the polymer nanocomposite. Satisfactory supercapacitor behaviour with a specific capacitance of 268.5 F g(-1) at 0.1 A g(-1) is estimated for the polymer nanocomposite which is larger than ZnO nanoparticles and the bare polymer. It is demonstrated that the innate conductivity of the SMA copolymer is enhanced upon modification. The materials also exhibit good cycling stability with maximum capacitance retention. The biocompatibility of the nanocomposites has been established from the preliminary cell viability studies performed on 3T6 mouse fibroblast cells. The developed material shows great promise to provide a green alternative to existing supercapacitors.