A novel polythiophene/WO3/SnO2 ternary nanocomposite as an electrode for flexible symmetric supercapacitor

The composites of conducting polymers with metal oxides are of great importance for supercapacitor applications. The polythiophene/WO 3 /SnO 2 (PWS) ternary nanocomposite (NC) is produced with four different compositions via in-situ chemical oxidative polymerzation process, incorporating WO 3 and SnO 2 with polythiophene (PTh). Employing the FTIR, XRD, FESEM, elemental mapping, EDS, XPS, and HRTEM validates the morphology, elements, and structure of the produced NC. The electrochemical behaviour of the PWS ternary NCs is measured using the potentiostat. The incorporation of WO 3 and SnO 2 with polythiophene (PTh) enhanced the electrochemical efficacy of the PWS NC. The optimized PWS5 NC demonstrated remarkably structural, exhibiting a higher specific surface area of 7.18 m 2 g −1 than pristine PTh (5.58 m 2 g −1 ). The electrochemical properties of PWS NCs were investigated using a 1 M Na 2 SO 4 aqueous electrolyte solution. Among PWS NCs, PWS5 NC delivered the highest C sp of 405 F g −1 and lower charge transfer resistance (R ct ) of 0.79 Ω. Additionally, PWS5 exhibited excellent cycling stability, retaining 92.1% of its initial capacitance after 5000 GCD cycling. The enhanced performance is attributed to the synergistic interaction between the conducting PTh matrix and WO 3 /SnO 2 nanoparticles, which promotes efficient ion diffusion and charge-transfer kinetics. Moreover, the C sp of 223 F g −1 was measured for the PWS5 symmetric supercapacitor (SSC) at 1 A g −1 using the PVA-Na 2 SO 4 gel. After 10,000 GCD cycles, the assembled PWS5 SSC device exhibited a retaining capacity of 86%. The PWS5 SSC has a power density of 500 W kg −1 and an energy density of 31 W h kg −1 . The leakage current test and self-discharge analysis highlight the SSC's outstanding efficiency. These enhanced storage efficiencies suggest that the PWS system is a viable option for energy storage.