Environmentally benign synthesis and characterization of Bi₂O₃‐Sb₂O₃ nanocomposite: Investigation of its potential as electrode material in energy storage and generation applications

Abstract

A shift to alternate energy sources is needed at the present time to address rising environmental concerns. The current research work aims to use a chemical‐free and green route to synthesize nanocomposite for their application as an electrode in the generation as well as storage of energy. Subsequently, the green synthesis of Bi2O3‐Sb2O3 nanocomposite was carried out using the leaf extract of Amaranthus viridis. The synthesized nanocomposite revealed a well‐arranged pattern of spherical nanoparticles with a crystal size of 29.43 nm and a band gap value of 2.5 eV. The hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) potentials of Bi2O3‐Sb2O3 were studied through linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), whereas the energy storage studies were performed using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic charge discharge (GCD) techniques. The synthesized nanomaterial showed promising results for HER with an overpotential value of 205 mV as compared with OER, where an overpotential value of 450 mV was observed. However, excellent cyclic stability was witnessed for both reactions up to 1000 cycles. CV studies revealed an outstanding capacitance value of 348 F/g at a scan rate of 2 mV/s, whereas a specific capacitance of 269.5 F/g at a current density of 0.5 A/g was observed using GCD. The 15 h of electrode stability further endorsed the potential of synthesized material for energy‐based applications.