ZrO₂-Induced Crystal Growth Mechanism of Prism-Like ZnO for Enhanced Supercapacitor and OLED Applications

Incorporating one nanostructured metal oxide with another seems to be an effective strategy for improving the performance of binary composites compared to pristine materials. In this work, we incorporated ZnO into ZrO2 using a simple coprecipitation method to enhance the performance of ZrO2. Physicochemical features of the developed materials were thoroughly investigated through FTIR, XRD, Raman, FESEM, UV–visible spectroscopy, etc. The XRD and Raman analysis results showed the presence of tetragonal-phase ZrO2 and hexagonal ZnO in the composite (denoted ZZC). FESEM results revealed the ZrO2-induced nanorod to prism-like morphological transformation of ZnO in ZZC. The J–V analysis exhibited a 115% increment in the AC conductivity compared to the pristine ones. Further, dielectric and photoluminescence (PL) analyses reflected a tremendous improvement in the dielectric properties and the radiative electron–hole recombination rate in ZZC, opening its potential application as an electron transport layer for OLED applications. The electrochemical performances of ZZC by cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charging–discharging (GCD), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) (in aq 1 M KCl solution) demonstrated its enhanced energy storage capacity and lower resistance value. ZZC exhibited a maximum specific capacitance of 122.22 F/g at a current density of 1A/g, augmenting its potential application as an electrode for supercapacitors.