The role of GO and MXenes in enhancement of electrochemical performance of ZIF 8 for supercapacitor applications

In this study, a solid-state strategy was carried out using graphene oxide (GO) and MXenes (Ti 3 C 2 T x ) where x is a functional group such as Hydrogen (H), hydroxyl (OH), Chlorine (Cl), Fluorine (F), etc. to enhance the performance of the synthesized zeolitic imidazolate frameworks 8 (ZIF 8) for supercapacitor application. The major challenge facing ZIF hybrids-based materials is low conductivities and we incorporated GO and MXene to enhance the conductivity to deliver a better specific capacitance. The qualities of designed electrodes were examined using X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), UV–visible spectroscopy, and electrochemical analysis. The estimated specific capacitance of 1270 Fg -1 and 1150 Fg -1 from cyclic voltammetry (CV) at a scan rate of 10.0 ​mVs −1 for ZIF 8/GO and ZIF 8/MXene electrodes correspondingly. However, using galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD) at 10.0 Ag -1 current density, various electrodes delivered maximum specific capacitance of 1428 Fg -1 and 1314 Fg -1 respectively at 1.0 Ag -1 current density from ZIF 8/GO and ZIF 8/MXene electrodes. The study's findings suggest that adding GO and MXene caused the manufactured electrodes' electrochemical properties to improve indicating that GO enhancement is better than MXenes. Moreover, the capacitance retention of ZIF 8/GO and ZIF 8/MXene composites could be maintained at 92.82 ​% and 88.25 ​% after 10000 cycles at 1.0 Ag −1 current density. • ZIF 8 became an emerging electrode material for supercapacitors, batteries, etc. • MXenes is an enhancer in energy storage devices. • Graphene oxide (GO) performs well in energy storage devices. • This study revealed that GO performed better than MXenes. • The study indicates that carbon materials are useful in energy storage devices.