Zinc Selenide (ZnSe) for Supercapacitor and Photocatalytic Applications

Abstract

Commercial Zinc Selenide (ZnSe) was explored as an electrode material for aqueous supercapacitor systems. The material was found to have a cubic structure with no impurities and hence as such subjected to the electrochemical properties in a three electrode system. The material was found to deliver a first cycle discharge capacitance of 106 F/g for a current density of 0.125A/g in the wide potential window of -0.8 to 0.5 V. The cycling efficiency of the commercial material was tested at a high current rate of 3 A/g. The material delivered a discharge capacitance of 16 F/g even after 1000 cycles. The used electrode after 1000 cycles was then explored for the photocatalytic efficiency. The dye degradation was about 78.96 % for methylene blue, indicating ZnSe to be a promising material for both the energy and environmental applications.