The influence of Ag incorporation on the electrochemical characteristics of ZnO/C electrodes

Abstract

Herein, Ag-incorporated ZnO/C samples were successfully synthesized via green chemistry processes. The XRD patterns reveal the presence of a secondary metallic Ag phase in the samples. The SEM images indicate the successful formation of spherically shaped carbon-coated Ag-incorporated ZnO samples. The existence of silver (Ag) along with zinc (Zn), oxygen (O) and carbon (C) in the samples was established using the EDAX analysis. The electrochemical measurements indicate that the 5 wt% Ag-incorporated ZnO/C (AgZ/C-5) electrodes exhibit excellent electrochemical characteristics. The AgZ/C-5 electrode yields the high specific capacitance of 1366 F g⁻¹ at the specific current of 1 A g⁻¹ and the fairly low charge transfer resistance of 0.8 Ω. These characteristics demonstrate the potential applications of the AgZ/C-5 electrode in high-performance supercapacitors.