Structural engineering of MoO3 and MWCNT decorated on g-C3N5 as formed 0D/1D/2D nanohybrid for a platinum-free reliable counter electrode in dye-sensitized solar cells and supercapacitor applications
Karthigaimuthu DHARMALINGAM, Abdul SUBHAN, Abdel-Hamid Ismail MOURAD
Abstract. In this work, we have fabricated MoO3/MWCNT/g-C3N5 as formed 0D/1D/2D nanohybrid were synthesized using eco-friendly hydrothermal synthesis method for dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) and supercapacitor. The phase structures, functional groups and optical features of synthesized samples were confirmed by different characterization analytical techniques. The self-assembled MoO3 nanoparticle and MWCNT were decorated on the g-C3N5 nanosheet surface and morphologies formed as 0D/1D/2D multi-dimensional nanostructures as confirmed from FE-SEM and HR-TEM analysis. The prepared materials used as counter electrodes for DSSC and the fabricated DSSC performance of the Jsc, Voc, FF%, and power conversion efficiency (PCE%) were 18 mA cm-2, 0.6 V, 0.70% and 7.58%, respectively. The electrochemical performance of MoO3/MWCNT/g-C3N5 electrodes in 1 M Na2SO4 showed a specific capacitance of 831 F/g at 1 A/g. Moreover, MoO3/MWCNT/g-C3N5 shown exceptional PCE % in the reduction of triiodide (I⁻/I₃⁻) and enhanced specific capacitance due to synergistic effects at the multifunctional interfaces of 0D-MoO3, 1D-MWCNT and 2D-g-C3N5. This study positively encourages simple self-assembly of 0D/1D/2D ternary hybrid synthesis and rational design of highly efficient DSSC solar cells and supercapacitors offer low-cost, safe, and reliable energy storage devices in the near future.
Keywords
MoO3, MWCNT, g-C3N5, 0D/1D/2D, DSSC, Supercapacitor
Published online 6/20/2026, 8 pages
Copyright © 2026 by the author(s)
Published under license by Materials Research Forum LLC., Millersville PA, USA
Citation: Karthigaimuthu DHARMALINGAM, Abdul SUBHAN, Abdel-Hamid Ismail MOURAD, Structural engineering of MoO3 and MWCNT decorated on g-C3N5 as formed 0D/1D/2D nanohybrid for a platinum-free reliable counter electrode in dye-sensitized solar cells and supercapacitor applications, Materials Research Proceedings, Vol. 67, pp 131-138, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21741/9781644904176-19
The article was published as article 19 of the book Climate Action and Sustainability
Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license. Any further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
References
[1] D. Karthigaimuthu, M. Alsawalha, A.A.H. Mourad, A.A. Yadav, Y.M. Hunge, E. Thangavel, A. Hamid, I. Mourad, Construction of g-C3N4/MoS2/SnO2 hybrid as 2D/2D/1D architecture for counter electrode of dye-sensitized solar cells and photodegradation of pharmaceutical drugs from wastewater, Appl. Surf. Sci. Adv. 27 (2025) 100771. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apsadv.2025.100771
[2] D. Karthigaimuthu, K. Raju, S. Chakrabortty, S. Ghosh, B. Arjunkumar, T. Elangovan, S. Sambasivam, Rational design of Mg(OH)2/Cu2(OH)3(NO3) binary heterostructure electrodes for enriched supercapacitors performance, Ionics (Kiel). 2 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11581-023-05304-4
[3] K. Dharmalingam, A.K. Bojarajan, R. Gopal, E. Thangavel, S.A. Burhan Al Omari, S. Sangaraju, Direct Z-scheme heterojunction impregnated MoS2–NiO–CuO nanohybrid for efficient photocatalyst and dye-sensitized solar cell, Sci. Rep. 14 (2024) 14518, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-65163-5
[4] R.S. Kangutkar, P. Walko, P.L. Dhepe, G.P. Nayaka, J. Manjanna, Photocatalytic Hydrogen Evolution by MoO3@g-C3N4 and MoO3@f-MWCNT Nanocomposites in Deionized and Natural Seawater under Visible Light, ACS Appl. Nano Mater. 8 (2025) 7175–7189. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsanm.5c00297
[5] D. Karthigaimuthu, A.K. Bojarajan, A.A.H. Mourad, G. Ramalingam, M.T. Alotaibi, E. Thangavel, A.H.I. Mourad, g-C3N4 integrated with MoS2/BiVO4 as a 2D/2D/1D heterojunction for enhanced photocatalytic activity under sunlight and DSSC performances, Environ. Technol. Innov. 40 (2025) 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eti.2025.104382
[6] D. Karthigaimuthu, P. Saradhi, B.A. Kumar, G. Ramalingam, T. Elangovan, S. Sangaraju, Hydrothermal synthesis of MoS2-Mg(OH)2-BiVO4 ternary hierarchical heterostructures for dye-sensitized solar cell application, Mater. Lett. 359 (2024) 135890. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matlet.2024.135890

