Exploring V2O5 nanostructures for enhanced supercapacitor performance with Na2SO4 hydrogel electrolyte

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Date

2025

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Elsevier Ltd

Abstract

The present study investigates vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) nanostructures combined with Na2SO4-based gel electrolytes to improve the efficiency and energy storage capability of next-generation supercapacitors. V2O5 with nanorod (NR-I) and nanoflower (NF-II) morphologies were synthesised via hydrothermal methods and characterized using XRD, XPS, SEM, UV–vis, FTIR, AFM, RAMAN and BET techniques. To address leakage and mechanical challenges, self-supporting hydrogel films were fabricated from PVA polymer in a neutral Na2SO4 electrolyte at room temperature without chemical crosslinking agents. The electrochemical study revealed superior specific capacitance for NR-I compared to NF-II in single-electrode configurations with aqueous Na2SO4 electrolyte. Therefore, symmetric supercapacitor devices (NR-I // NR-I) were assembled using PVA-Na2SO4 hydrogel and aqueous Na2SO4 electrolytes. The hydrogel-based device demonstrated superior performance, achieving a specific energy of 29 Wh kg−1 and a specific power of 0.79 kW kg−1 at 1 A g−1 within a 1.6 V operating window. Additionally, it retained over 95.2 % of its original capacitance at 8 A g−1 after 2000 cycles and exhibited excellent cyclability, maintaining stable performance up to 5000 cycles. The present research offers a novel approach to enhancing supercapacitor performance by integrating V2O5 nanostructures with PVA-Na2SO4 hydrogel electrolytes, utilizing self-supporting films to address leakage and improve device efficiency. [Display omitted] •1-D and 3-D morphologies using Hydrothermal approach.•A self-supporting hydrogel-based symmetric device was fabricated.•Symmetric device (V2O5//V2O5) delivers a high energy density of 29 Wh kg−1.•The device retains 95.2 % capacitive retention after 2000 cycles.

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Keywords

Vanadium pentoxide, Hydrogel electrolyte, Hydrothermal, Supercapacitor, Electrochemical stability

Citation

Bulla, M. et al. (2025) Exploring V2O5 nanostructures for enhanced supercapacitor performance with Na2SO4 hydrogel electrolyte. Journal of energy storage. [Online] 131.