Tailoring of ternary nanocomposite films of poly(vinyl alcohol)/ AgAlO2@reduced graphene oxide: An active material for flexible supercapacitors

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/silver aluminium oxide (AgAlO2)@reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanocomposites (NCs) as flexible supercapacitor electrodes were fabricated via an eco-friendly and scalable solution casting approach. The crystallinity and morphological characteristics of the developed NCs were characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The thermal properties were analysed by thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA). The electrochemical performance of PVA/AgAlO2@rGO NCs as a supercapacitor electrode material was investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) studies. PVA/AgAlO2@rGO NCs showed wide operating potential windows (1.2 V) which can greatly enhance their capacitive behaviour. The highest specific capacitance obtained was 273.4 F g-1 in the case of 2 wt % AgAlO2@rGO loaded PVA NC as compared to pristine PVA (6.04 F g-1). These NCs exhibited superior performance with the energy density (13.8 Whkg-1) and power density (150 W kg-1) at 0.5 A g-1 respectively. PVA/AgAlO2@rGO NCs exhibited the negligible equivalent series resistance and charge transfer resistance as an indication of excellent charge propagation at the interface between an electrolyte and an electrode. The NCs showed good capacity retention of 86.18% even after 1000 cycles. The NCs comprising of AgAlO2 NPs exhibited better specific capacitance than reduced graphene oxide incorporated PVA NCs, thus constituting a new approach for fabricating supercapacitors electrodes.

Automated summary

Poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/silver aluminium oxide (AgAlO2)@reduced graphene oxide (rGO) nanocomposites (NCs) were fabricated as flexible supercapacitor electrodes using a solution casting approach. The NCs exhibited excellent electrochemical performance, wide operating potential windows, high specific capacitance, energy density, and power density, as well as negligible equivalent series resistance and charge transfer resistance. The addition of AgAlO2 NPs in the NCs showed better specific capacitance, providing a new approach for fabricating supercapacitor electrodes.