Enhanced dye-sensitized solar cell performance and electrochemical capacitive behavior of bi-functional ZnO/NiO/Co3O4 ternary nanocomposite prepared by chemical co-precipitation method

Increasing prerequisite for sustainable energy storage and conversion technologies has necessitated exploration of advanced materials with improved properties. Here, we present the synthesis and characterization of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs), ZnO/NiO, ZnO/Co3O4 and ZnO/NiO/Co3O4 NCs as promising bi-functional materials for dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) and electrochemical energy storage applications. A facile chemical co-precipitation approach was followed to synthesis pure ZnO NPs, ZnO/NiO, ZnO/Co3O4 and ZnO/NiO/Co3O4 NCs. The structural and morphological analyses revealed successful integration of ZnO, NiO, and Co3O4 NPs and also formation of well-defined core-shell and homogenous nanocomposite structures. The XRD and HRTEM analyses confirmed crystalline nature and nanoscale morphology of synthesized materials, respectively. The photovoltaic performance of DSSC fabricated using ternary ZnO/NiO/Co3O4 NC photoanode showed optimum dye-loading and best solar to electrical energy conversion efficiency with Jsc of 11.29 mA.cm−2 and ƞ of 4.66%, which was considerably higher than the DSSC fabricated using pure ZnO NPs photoanode (ƞ = 2.01%). The increment in photocurrent density (Jsc) could be ascribed to perfect band alignment of NiO and Co3O4 NPs in the ternary NC. Further, the ZnO/NiO/Co3O4 NC photoanode integrated DSSC disclosed 97% retainment in energy conversion efficiency even after 10 days of operation. The electrochemical performance of supercapacitor fabricated using ternary ZnO/NiO/Co3O4 NC showed high specific capacitance of 534.7 Fg−1 at 1 Ag−1 with favorable rate ability (∼52% at 16 Ag−1), good cyclic stability (91.07%) and low internal resistance. Moreover, the ZnO/NiO/Co3O4 NC at current density of 2 Ag−1 exhibited a significantly high capacitance value of 463.1 Fg−1, which was 1.93, 1.58 and 1.22 times greater than ZnO NPs, ZnO/Co3O4 NC and ZnO/NiO NC, respectively.