Surface-modified CuO nanoparticles for photocatalysis and highly efficient energy storage devices.

Herein we report multifunctional surface-modified CuO nanomaterials were used to fulfill escalating needs in the electrochemical energy storage system and to achieve efficient photocatalysts for the degradation of AR88 organic dye. Due to the atom economy, ease of synthesis, high capacitance, observable electrochemical responsiveness, and low bandgap in CuO-based nanomaterials, its active surface was modified through cationic surfactant CTAB. Surface-modified nanoparticles were characterized using various characterization techniques such as XRD, DRS, FESEM, and TEM. Intriguingly the synthesized materials demonstrated a capacitance of 133 F/g with a long-term charge-discharge cycle of 2000 cycles. In addition, at pH 11, the material also exhibited a superior dye degradation performance under the UV lamp by showing 94.8% AR88 degradation at a catalyst concentration of 1.0 g/L. Hence, we believe this concept would provide novel insights into the preparation of the simplest and cheaper multifunctional materials for next-generation energy storage and photocatalytic applications.