CeO₂-Cu₂O composite nanofibers: Synthesis, characterization photocatalytic and electrochemical application

The present study describes fabrication and electrochemical classification of one-dimensional CeO₂-Cu₂O nanofibers for photocatalysis and supercapacitor application. The utilized CeO₂-Cu₂O composite was prepared by sol–gel electrospinning method using Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), Ce(NO₃)₃⋅6H₂O and Cu(CH₃COO)₂ as precursors. The physicochemical properties of the synthesized samples were characterized using special characterization approaches such as X-ray diffractometer (XRD), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). As compared to pristine CeO₂, the UV–vis spectrum of CeO₂-Cu₂O composite exhibited the absorption peak which shifted to higher wavelength. The photocatalytic activity results indicated the substantial degradation of MB dye by ∼92% over the surface of CeO₂-Cu₂O nanocomposite catalyst under visible light illumination. The CeO₂-Cu₂O composite possessed higher photocatalytic activity and electrochemical capacitance than the pristine samples as supercapacitor electrode materials. The CeO₂-Cu₂O composite exhibits a specific capacitance of 329.64 F g⁻¹ at 5 mV s⁻¹, which is higher than that of the pristine CeO₂ (192.5 F g⁻¹) nanofibers. These results suggest the applicability of fabricated composite nanofibers as visible light active photocatalyst and as electrode material for supercapacitors.