Research Projects

The increasing demand for energy due to pollution, climate change, limited fossil fuels, and population growth necessitates a shift towards renewable energy sources. Energy storage is a crucial aspect of this transition, with supercapacitors, batteries, and supercapatria being popular due to their high power density, faster recharge, and long cycle life. The performance of a supercapacitor depends on the electrode material and the choice of electrolyte. Carbon materials like graphitic carbon nitride, carbon quantum dots, and graphene can improve the redox-mediated charge storage capacity of energy storage devices. However, their specific capacitance value is low, which can be increased by incorporating them with conducting polymers like poly-pyrrole, PEDOT, and PANI. The choice of electrolyte can be optimized by selecting the electrode material with appropriate pore dimensions with the electrolyte. Graphitic carbon nitride, a family of carbon and nitrogen compounds with the general formula g-C3N4, exhibits high conductivity and good energy storage properties. Nanocomposites, made up of two or more constituent materials with different physical or chemical properties, are promising materials for energy storage applications. This proposal aims to increase the energy density of supercapacitors by synthesizing and characterizing g-C3N4-based metal derivatives/polymer nanocomposites, studying and optimizing these nanocomposites for electrochemical applications, and designing and developing supercapacitor devices using synthesized carbon nitride-based materials for energy storage applications.