Effect of MXene on Co3O4–LaVO4 nanocomposites for synergistic charge transport enhancement and high-performance VARTM assisted solid-state supercapacitor devices using woven carbon fiber

Abstract

This study investigates the synthesis of LaVO₄ (LaVO), Co₃O₄–LaVO₄ (Co–LaVO), and Co₃O₄–LaVO₄/MXene (Co–LaVO/Mx) nanocomposites, focusing on optimizing the MXene concentration in Co–LaVO/Mx for high-performance supercapacitor electrodes. The optimal MXene concentration in Co–LaVO/Mx was identified and utilized to fabricate high-performance supercapacitor devices using the vacuum-assisted resin transfer molding (VARTM) technique. Among the tested compositions in a three-electrode system, the Co–LaVO–Mx3 nanocomposite exhibited the highest electrochemical performance, achieving an outstanding specific capacitance of 1287.80 F g⁻¹ at a current density of 1 A g⁻¹. This remarkable performance significantly surpasses that of LaVO (575.67 F g⁻¹), Co–LaVO (610.66 F g⁻¹), Co–LaVO/Mx1 (783.56 F g⁻¹), and Co–LaVO/Mx5 (1196.45 F g⁻¹), demonstrating the crucial role of optimized MXene concentration in improving charge storage, conductivity, and overall electrochemical efficiency. The optimized Co–LaVO/Mx3 nanocomposite was integrated onto woven carbon fibres (WCFs) and employed to fabricate high-performance solid-state supercapacitor devices using the VARTM technique. The resulting device demonstrated an impressive specific capacitance of 317.57 F g⁻¹ at 2 A g⁻¹ and achieved a remarkable energy density of 74.85 W h kg⁻¹ at 1000 W kg⁻¹. Furthermore, it exhibited exceptional cycling stability, retaining 71% of its initial capacitance after 50 000 cycles, highlighting its robustness and long-term operational reliability for advanced energy storage applications.