Powering sustainability: High-performance supercapacitors using reduced graphene oxide from waste tires embedded with molybdenum disulfide

Abstract

This research proposes an innovative approach to supercapacitor development by leveraging materials derived from waste tires to effectively address both energy storage requirements and environmental sustainability challenges. Specifically in this work, we utilized two-dimensional (2D) reduced graphene oxide synthesized from waste tires (WT–rGO) through a two-step catalytic pyrolysis process, combined with hydrothermally synthesized molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂). The synthesized materials were thoroughly characterized using various analytical techniques to confirm their structural and chemical properties. The optimized WT–rGO@MoS₂ modified electrode demonstrates a specific capacitance of 576.4 F g⁻¹ at 0.5 A g⁻¹ and a low internal resistance of 0.65 Ω, which outperform other tested electrodes. The integration of these components is designed to leverage their combined advantages, including numerous catalytically active sites, high electrical conductivity, and high specific surface area. The symmetric device delivers an energy density of 30.36 Wh Kg⁻¹ at 253.23 W kg⁻¹ power density with excellent cyclic stability, which retains 92.6 % of original capacitance and achieves the coulombic efficiency of 113 % after 5000 cycles. Additionally, two series-connected devices power a light emitting diode (LED) to glow for up to 80 min. This study highlights the potential of repurposing waste materials for advanced, sustainable energy storage solutions.