Unveiling the impact of aluminium (Al) on the pure LaFeO3 nanoparticles for supercapacitor electrodes

This study investigates the synthesis of pure LaFeO3 and Al-doped LaFeO3 nanoparticles using a solid-state reaction method, with the goal of analyzing the physicochemical properties of the synthesized nanoparticles. The powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis of pure and Al-doped LaFeO3 system confirms an orthorhombic crystalline structure. Detailed discussions were provided on the diverse IR and Raman vibrational bands observed in the synthesized nanomaterials. Optical bandgap energy values were determined by Tauc’s plots, yielding values of 2.07 eV and 1.99 eV, respectively. The Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analysis confirms the polycrystalline structure and surface features of the pure LaFeO3 and Al-doped LaFeO3 nanoparticles. Electrochemical performance of the synthesized materials was evaluated using cyclic voltammetry (CV) within a potential window of 0.46 V. From the electrochemical analysis, the specific capacitance value of the pure LaFeO3 nanoparticles was measured to be 189 F/g at a current density of 1 A/g, while the Al-doped LaFeO3 nanoparticles affected the specific capacitance of 80 F/g at the same current density.