Amaranthus Viridis-Assisted Fabrication of CuO–SbO–ZrO2 Nanocomposites for Advanced Supercapacitive Energy Storage and Bifunctional Electrocatalysis

Materials for energy storage and production that are sustainable in nature are highly significant in today’s world. In the current study, a facile, cost-effective, and phytogenically induced fabrication of CuOSbOZrO2 ternary nanocomposite is reported using Amaranthus viridis L. leaf extract as a natural stabilizer. The morphological properties were examined through SEM, XRD, and EDX analysis, and thus, it has been found that the ternary oxides have formed. The prepared AV.LA-CuOSbOZrO2 nanocomposite material was impregnated on Nickel Foam to observe its efficiency in supercapacitor and electrocatalysis applications. When tested as a supercapacitor electrode, it yielded a high specific capacitance value of 456 F/g at 2 mV/s and 365 F/g at 1 A/g in 3 M KOH electrolyte. Additionally, the AV.LA-CuOSbOZrO2-NF electrode presented impressive bifunctional catalytic performance in overall water electrolysis reactions, requiring only 210 mV and 360 mV overpotential for hydrogen evolution reaction and oxygen evolution reaction, respectively, to attain 10 mA/cm2 current density. Pertinent Tafel slopes were measured to be 113 mV/decade and 205 mV/decade for the HER and OER reactions, respectively. Durable performance was obtained through the test of 1,000 LSV cycles and 18 h of chronoamperometry measurements. Herein, we report for the first time a cost-effective approach towards fabrication of CuOSbOZrO2 electrode on commercial NFs.