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This review provides a comprehensive overview of the production and modification of CZTS nanoparticles (NPs) and their application in electrocatalysis for water splitting. Various aspects, including surface modification, heterostructure design with carbon nanostructured materials, and tunable electrocatalytic studies, are discussed. A key focus is the synthesis of small CZTS nanoparticles with tunable reactivity, emphasizing the sonochemical method's role in their formation. Despite CZTS's affordability, it often exhibits poor hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) behavior. Carbon materials like graphene, carbon nanotubes, and C60 are highlighted for their ability to enhance electrocatalytic activity due to their unique properties. The review also discusses the amine functionalization of graphene oxide/CZTS composites, which enhances overall water splitting performance. Doping with non-noble metals such as Fe, Co., and Ni is presented as an effective strategy to improve catalytic activity. Additionally, the synthesis of heterostructures consisting of CZTS nanoparticles attached to MoS2-reduced graphene oxide (rGO) hybrids is explored, showing enhanced HER activity compared to pure CZTS and MoS2. The growing demand for energy and the need for efficient renewable energy sources, particularly hydrogen generation, are driving research in this field. The review aims to demonstrate the potential of CZTS-based electrocatalysts for high-performance and cost-effective hydrogen generation with low environmental impact. Vacuum-based and non-vacuum-based methods for fabricating CZTS are discussed, with a focus on simplicity and efficiency. Future developments in CZTS-based electrocatalysts include enhancing activity and stability, improving charge transfer mechanisms, ensuring cost-effectiveness and scalability, increasing durability, integrating with renewable energy sources, and gaining deeper insight into reaction processes. Overall, CZTS-based electrocatalysts show great promise for sustainable hydrogen generation, with ongoing research focused on improving performance and advancing their practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study demonstrates the synthesis of ternary composites of zinc vanadate (Zn3V2O8) with silver (Ag) and carbon matrix originated from the Bengal gram bean extract (BGBE) using a facile, economic, and environmentally sustainable rotational chemical bath deposition (R−CBD) method. From the electrochemical studies, it is found that the Zn3V2O8−Ag@C demonstrated improved electrochemical performance with the specific capacitance (Csp) of 380.1 F g−1, energy density (ED) of 52.7 Wh kg−1, with power density (PD) of 882.3 W kg−1 at 3 mA cm−2 current density and good capacitive retention of 89.8 % over 3000 charge–discharge (GCD) cycles, which is remarkably higher than the other electrode materials (Zn3V2O8, Zn3V2O8−Ag, Zn3V2O8@C). The combined merits of conductive silver (Ag) nanoparticle and carbonaceous material from BGBE assist in enhancing the overall electrochemical performance of Zn3V2O8−Ag@C. The Zn3V2O8−Ag@C nanocomposite was used as electrode material for the fabrication of a flexible symmetric solid–state supercapacitor device (SSC). The SSC device delivered a Csp of 69.17 F g−1 with an energy density (ED) of 13.8 Wh kg−1 at a 2 mA cm−2 current density. Moreover, the SSC shows a 90 % capacitive retention over the continuous GCD cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance of supercapacitors is strongly related to the high surface area, morphology (shape and size), the porosity of materials, fast ion passage channels, structural stability, and variable oxidation state of electrode material. In the present work, we have investigated the role of polyethylene glycol (PEG) on the crystal structure, morphology, and electrochemical behavior of V2O5 nanoparticles. We demonstrated the advantages of applying PEG as an effective modifier for the synthesis of V2O5 nanofibers. The dual role of PEG such as a structure directing agent and as a precursor for forming a carbon matrix assists in inhibiting crystallite growth and elevates the electronic conductivity of the V2O5 nanofibers. The V2O5-PEG/Flexible stainless-steel mesh (FSSM) exhibited a specific capacitance of 520.3 F g−1 at a current density of 2 mA cm−2 and excellent cyclic stability (87% over 2000 cycles) which is higher than the bare V2O5. Furthermore, the assembled V2O5-PEG/FSSM-based symmetric capacitor device delivers a specific capacitance of 81.7 F g−1 with an energy density of 16.3Wh kg−1. The good capacitive performance of V2O5-PEG/FSSM is due to the intercalated PEG molecules into the V2O5 nanofibers which provide a high specific surface area, and interconnected nanofiber network-like morphology with wide pores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, we report the chemical synthesis of a core–shell nanoarchitecture comprising CuCo2O4@CuO (CCO@CuO) on a flexible stainless steel mesh substrate (FSSM) with CuCo2O4 (core) and CuO (shell) by a simple, cost-efficient, additive-free hydrothermal deposition method, followed by successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction method for fabricating a flexible electrode for an asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC). The nanocomposite of CCO@CuO revealed a high surface area of 98.33 m2 g–1 and the electrode delivered a high specific capacitance of 713 F g–1 at a high current density of 11 mA cm–2, which was noted to be higher than those of the individual constituent CuO (436 F g–1) and CuCo2O4 (443 F g–1) metal oxide electrodes. The CCO@CuO electrode demonstrated remarkable cycling stability (∼90% capacitance retention after 5000 charge–discharge cycles at 15 mA cm–2). The ASC device CCO@CuO//rGO (reduced graphene oxide) delivered a maximum energy density of 37.43 Wh kg–1 at a power density of 250 W kg–1. The device revealed 83% capacitance retention after 4000 cycles. These results indicate that the CCO@CuO/FSSM electrode is a promising functional material for energy storage devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Energy generation through electrochemical conversion while addressing the environmental concerns has always been the topic of interest to the scientific community. Particularly, the development of low‐cost and efficient electrocatalyst gained attention for large‐scale energy and clean‐energy production. But now the emphasis is on developing low‐cost and efficient electrocatalyst materials that show more than one electrocatalytic reactions. Hence, we have developed a highly porous and active edge plane exposed β‐Ni(OH)2 nanosheet on low‐cost and flexible stainless‐steel mesh (SSM) and investigated its catalytic activity for oxidation of urea, hydrazine, and water. The as‐prepared β‐Ni(OH)2/SSM demonstrates the excellent catalytic activity towards the urea oxidation reaction (UOR), hydrazine oxidation reaction (HzOR), and oxygen evolution reaction (OER) with potential lower than the 1.45 V vs. RHE, 1.34 V vs. RHE, and 1.51 V vs. RHE at 50 mA/cm2 current density, respectively. Furthermore, the as‐prepared electrocatalyst demonstrates excellent stability in UOR, HzOR, and OER for long time. The promising electrocatalytic activity of as‐prepared β‐Ni(OH)2/SSM electrocatalyst is attributed to the highly porous, and edge plane exposed binder‐free thin nanosheets grown on SSM, which also adds to the mechanical structure stability and a large amount of mass transportation during electrocatalytic activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]