Hydrothermal synthesis and characterization of nanostructured nickel vanadate for supercapacitor and photocatalytic applications

Abstract

We successfully synthesised nickel vanadate (NiVO3) nanocomposite by an inexpensive hydrothermal technique. Several analytical methods have been employed to characterise the synthesised nanocomposite. The crystal structure of NiVO3 is orthorhombic, and its crystallite size is around 10.3 nm. The NiVO3 nanocomposite has an optical band gap of 2.62 eV from the absorption spectra analysis. At a current density of 5 Ag-1, the NiVO3 nanocomposite exhibits a specific capacitance value of 398 Fg-1 and a retention rate of almost 90% after 2000 cycles. Furthermore, stability studies show that at a current density of 5 Ag-1, 90% of the capacitance is retained for 4000 cycles. The photocatalytic studies to break down the industrial pollutant Fast Orange Red (F-OR) dye show a 98.7% decolourization rate after 120 minutes of exposure to UV light irradiation. These features promote the creation of such nanocomposites for practical energy and environmental applications while providing a deeper understanding of the material's characteristics.