SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF Ag: NiO NANO COMPOSITE VIA GREEN ROUTE FOR PHOTOCATALYTIC AND SUPERCAPACITOR APPLICATIONS

In the present research work, an Ag: NiO nanocomposite was synthesized through a biomediated solution combustion method using Tulsi leaf extract. The confirmation of the Composite material was done by XRD, DRS, SEM, EDAX, TEM, and TGA spectral methods. The XRD reveals that the average crystallite size of Ag: NiO NC is ~ 30 nm. The SEM clearly shows a hexagonal shape and an average particle size of about 85 nm. The TEM images show that Ag diffraction spots typically correspond to the FCC structure, while NiO shows diffraction rings/spots consistent with its cubic structure. The energy band gap value for Ag: NiO NC of 3.84 eV is confirmed by DRS spectra. The TGA shows good heat stability and 90.81% of residue formation with a calcination temperature of Ag: NiO NPs developed even after 400 °C. The prepared composite was used for the photodegradation of Fast Orange Red (FOR), showing a maximum absorption at 495 nm with 74.59% degradation under UV light irradiation. The Ag: NiO NC was also used for Cyclic Voltammetric (CV) studies, exhibiting a surface redox mechanism of Ni2+ to Ni3+, which emerged at -0.01 V (cathodic) and -0.30 V (anodic) at 10 mV/s in 1 M KOH solution. The GCD shows good specific capacitances of 380.4 F/g at a current density of 5 A/g. The Ag: NiO NC shows outstanding cycle stability, retaining 94.5% of its starting value after 3000 cycles. This suggests that the electrode is appropriate for use in supercapacitors.