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Supercapacitors are considered as newly developed auxiliary and clean supplies of power and energy for the next generation energy storage devices with significant impact in many fields. In the present investigation, Ag nanoparticles decorated over TiO2-ZrO2 films are used as the material for energy storage applications. The cyclic voltammograms of the proposed material show better specific capacitance values and robust cyclic stability. The results of the electrochemical measurements further show a strong double-layer electrical capacitance of ternary mixed oxides. The synergetic interaction among the components in the hierarchical nanostructured porous Ag@TiO 2-ZrO2 film guaranteed the good capacitive performance. The comparison between the TiO2-ZrO2 films and Ag decorated TiO 2-ZrO2 films bring out the strong interconnection between the constitution and composition of both systems and their properties. These results underline the exceptional electrical double layer capacitive behavior that is seen in porous ternary composite films with better surface area. Furthermore, such a simple and low-cost layer by layer assembly method with self-cleaning property can be used for the large-scale fabrication of diverse functional architectures for energy storage and conversions.

Despite the fact that metal oxides have gained a foothold into a range of structural applications over the last decade, their investigation in the field of sensors, supercapacitors, has been limited. Novel sol-gel derived TiO2-ZrO2 composite coatings have recently found lots of applications in industrial as well as scientific world. The present article reviews, scrutinizes and highlights various types of applications of TiO2-ZrO2 coatings, functioning mechanisms and synthesis techniques used globally. Herein, particular emphasis is firstly given to the challenges faced by metal oxides in their performance for different applications. The different synthesis methods for the metal oxide composites and deposition techniques for obtaining corresponding coatings were examined in-depth from the aspects of its merits and demerits. Their distinct characteristics, underlying mechanisms, and possible applications in a variety of fields are highlighted. The literature work also enumerates studies of the surface property towards water and organic dirt may jointly conclude its self-cleaning nature. The review provides an up-to-date account on the different applications such as electrochemical storage, antibacterial effect and photocatalysis for TiO2-ZrO2 coatings. An insightful viewpoint for rational design of binary metal oxide TiO2-ZrO2 towards sensing and capacitance is also provided. The functionalities include better surface area and porosity which facilitates the charge transport and prevention of charge recombination of the synthesized TiO2-ZrO2 composite coatings are thoroughly reviewed. Finally, the prospective uses and future perspectives, along with their scaling capabilities and potential advances of these nanocomposite coatings are examined.

Eco-friendly bio-composite of polypropylene (PP)/coir-sisal blended yarn was prepared using commingling technique, in which both the fibers are wound onto a metal plate and then compression molded. Various chemical treatments have been done in order to improve the interfacial adhesion between the matrix and reinforcement, thereby to increase the properties of the composite. Thermal stability study was done using thermogravimetric analysis. The resulting thermogram reveals that chemical treatments increase the thermal stability of the commingled composite to a considerable extent. A significant increase is observed in the tensile properties of the treated composite especially maleic anhydride modified PP (MAPP) treated composite as compared to the untreated one. The tensile strength and tensile modulus of MAPP treated composite was found to be 29.24 MPa and 1330 MPa, respectively, which was found to be 7.5% and 6.4% greater than that of untreated composite. The experimentally observed tensile properties of the composites were compared with the existing models of reinforced composites. The surface morphology and fiber surface treatments were characterized by scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]