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Building g-C3N4/Fe2O3 heterojunctions on carbon nanotubes for enhanced electron conductivity and pseudocapacitive performances

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Abstract

Transition metal oxides (TMOs), such as Fe2O3 have been comprehensively investigated for high performance pseudocapacitors with a promising theoretical capacitance. However, their applications have been seriously restricted by the low electron conductivity. The construction of heterojunctions can effectively regulate the band structure of TMOs and the electron conductivity can be greatly optimized. In this work, a simple hydrothermal approach is used to synthesize a novel heterostructured g-C3N4/Fe2O3/CNT nanomaterial. The results demonstrate that the synergistic effects between g-C3N4 and Fe2O3 greatly accelerate electron transport speeds in the composite materials. The as-designed electrodes demonstrate a capacitance retention of 72.1% even at a current density of 9 A g−1, with excellent cycle performance and remarkable capacitance of 610 F g−1 at 0.2 A g−1. Meanwhile, the charge storage mechanisms and band structure of g-C3N4/Fe2O3 have been investigated and discussed in detail. This interfacial engineering strategy for making heterostructures offers fresh insights into the development of metal oxide materials for electrodes with high capacitance and excellent rate performance.

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Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 52102053), the Fundamental Research Program of Shanxi Province (No. 20210302124655), the Natural Science Foundation of Shanxi Province (No. 20210302123041), the Key Laboratory Research Foundation of North University of China (No. 2022C80303), the Shanxi Key Laboratory of Advanced Carbon Electrode Materials (No. 202104010910019) and the Graduate Science and Technology Project of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering of North University of China (No. 20220404), respectively.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, North University of China, Taiyuan, 030051, Shanxi, China

    Guo Le, Song Jiangfeng & Liang Jiachen

  2. Nanoyang Group, State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering, School of Chemical Engineering and Technology and Collaborative Innovation Center of Chemical Science and Engineering (Tianjin), Tianjin University, Tianjin, 300072, China

    Zhang Chen & Liang Jiachen

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  1. Guo Le
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Contributions

All the authors contributed to the completion of this paper. The details are as follows: (1) LG’s contributions included investigation, experiment implementation, data processing and analysis, and paper writing. (2) JL’s contributions included research ideas and investigation, paper revision, and providing funding and platforms for research. (3) JS’s contributions were to revise the article. (4) CZ’s contributions were to assist the first author in the testing of the electrochemical impedance.

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Correspondence to Liang Jiachen.

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Le, G., Chen, Z., Jiangfeng, S. et al. Building g-C3N4/Fe2O3 heterojunctions on carbon nanotubes for enhanced electron conductivity and pseudocapacitive performances. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 34, 2324 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-023-11745-4

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