The development of composite materials in nano-scale for electrochemical activity has remained an enormous
challenge in the supercapacitors (SCs) arena. In this work, a new type of ternary TiO2-ZnO/MCM-41 nanocomposite
was designed and prepared for further improvement to the electrochemical performance. First,
mesoporous MCM-41 silica material was prepared with a sol-gel method and then calcinate under 550 .C to form
porous material. Subsequently, ZnO-TiO2 crystals were grown on the MCM-41 silica material surface via a solvothermal
method to obtain ternary nanocomposite. The morphology and structure features of the ternary
nanocomposite were investigated with FESEM, TEM, and AFM. From the BET analysis, the specific surface area
(SSA) of the nanocomposite obtained 580 m2.g.. 1, which provided an excellent platform for the transmission of
ions and electrons. After that, energy storage performance was evaluated by electrochemical measurements such
as cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy
(EIS). The electrochemical performance measurements demonstrate a specific capacitance (Cs) as high as 642.4
F.g.. 1. Moreover, it exhibits excellent cyclic stability with 98.7% capacitance retention after 5000 cycles, which is
beyond that of most of the reported silica-based SCs. The current study provided a rational design and synthesis
of multifunctional catalysts for the development of SCs applications.
1. Introduction
In recent years, various technologies based on energy storage systems
have been expanding at a significantly high rate [1.4]. Electric
energy is available from different sources such as solar energy [5], wind
energy [6], biomass [7,8], and electrochemical energy storage (EES)
systems [9.13]. Among EES, SCs are highly regarded with features such
as excellent long-term cyclic life, high power density, rapid charging and
discharging, and nro environmental damage [14.16]. The Nippon
Electric Company (NEC