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Exploring the dual functionality of Er2S3:Al2S3:NiS2 thin film as supercapacitor electrode and photocatalyst for efficient energy storage and pollutant degradation

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Abstract

This study focuses on Er2S3:Al2S3:NiS2 thin films using diethyldithiocarbamate. The thin films exhibited a crystallite size of 37 nm, with geometrically shaped, small clustered bodies. XPS analysis confirmed the presence of core level peaks corresponding to Er4d, Al2p, Ni2p, and S2p in the material and band gap energy of 2.7 eV. Electrochemical testing using cyclic voltammetry revealed excellent performance with specific capacitance of 879 Fg−1. The thin films also exhibited satisfactory cycle stability, indicating their potential as energy storage media. Additionally, the photocatalytic activity of the material was evaluated for the degradation of various pollutants including malachite green dye, pesticide fluopyram, and phenol with 70% degradation against fluopyram with 2.03 × 10–2 min−1 rate constant. Successive cycles also presented an impressive degradation by the thin films. These findings highlight the promising potential of ternary metal sulphide thin films for diverse technological applications such as energy storage and photocatalysis.

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Acknowledgments

Authors express their gratitude to the Department of Environmental Sciences, Fatima Jinnah Women University, Pakistan for providing the technical and financial facilities needed for completion of this work. Authors also acknowledge the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan and Photon Science Institute, The University of Manchester, UK. The authors highly acknowledge Xuzhao Liu, PhD student, The University of Manchester, UK, for his tremendous help and assistance during the research. The author would like to thank Deanship of Scientific Research at Majmaah University for supporting this work under Project Number No. R-2023-517.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Materials and Environmental Chemistry Lab, Lab E-21, Department of Environmental Sciences, Fatima Jinnah Women University, The Mall, Rawalpindi, 46000, Pakistan

    Mahwash Mahar Gul & Khuram Shahzad Ahmad

  2. Department of General Studies, Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, Yanbu Industrial College, P.O. Box: 30436, Yanbu City, Saudi Arabia

    Yasser T. Alharbi

  3. Department of Materials, Photon Science Institute, Sir Henry Royce Institute, Alan Turing Building, The University of Manchester, Oxford Road, Manchester, M13 9PL, UK

    Andrew Guy Thomas

  4. Chemistry Department, Faculty of Science and Arts in Almakhwah, Al-Baha University, Al Bahah, 7738-65799, Saudi Arabia

    Suliman A. Alderhami

  5. Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Majmaah University, Al-Majmaah, 11952, Saudi Arabia

    Laila Almanqur

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  1. Mahwash Mahar Gul
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Gul, M.M., Ahmad, K.S., Alharbi, Y.T. et al. Exploring the dual functionality of Er2S3:Al2S3:NiS2 thin film as supercapacitor electrode and photocatalyst for efficient energy storage and pollutant degradation. Journal of Materials Research 38, 3995–4008 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1557/s43578-023-01117-3

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