CuO nanoparticles were synthesized by aqueous precipitation method and CuO doped PVA nanocomposites (1 wt, 2 wt, 3 wt, 4 wt and 5 wt) were prepared by solution casting method. The pellets of CuO nanoparticles and films of CuO doped PVA nanocomposites were used for electrical studies in the frequency range of 50 Hz to 5 MHz and in the temperature range of 303 to 338 K. The dielectric constant decreases while the AC electrical conductivity increases with increasing frequency and also with increase in temperature. XRD study confirms the crystalline nature of CuO nanoparticles and the average crystallite size is found to be around 8 nm. The peak widths in XRD pattern of PVA-CuO nanocomposites are broadened by incremental addition of CuO nanomaterials which implies an increase in the amorphous character of PVA-CuO nanocomposites that result in greater ionic diffusivity and high ionic conductivity. It is clear from UV-Vis spectral analysis that, increase in CuO concentration decreases the optical band gap from 4.978 eV to 3.03 eV. The FTIR (3700-650 cm −1) spectra of nanocomposite films are observed with changes by the addition of CuO nanomaterials.

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With the emerging newer energy storage applications, transition metal vanadates are booming up as better catalysts. Among all the transition metal vanadates, nickel cobalt vanadate nanomaterials (NiCo2V2O8 NP), are being considered as a promising material with electrocatalytic and photocatalytic activity. In this article, the synthesis of circular and ovular structured NiCo2V2O8 nanostructures by the hydrothermal route without using any capping agent is reported. The crystallinity, physical structure and morphology of the prepared nanomaterial were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. The photocatalytic property of NiCo2V2O8 nanostructures was studied by decolorizing industrially hazardous dye such as malachite green dye under ultra-violet light conditions for a regular interval of time (10 min) up to 60 min. The experiments showed decolorization efficiencies as 52.43 for malachite green dye. The electrochemical behaviour of the prepared compound was studied and energy specific capacity was elucidated as 218.4 F g-1 with high reversibility property the material. The NiCo2V2O8 nanostructures showed better electrochemical activity and photocatalytic activity, which could be utilized for supercapacitor and pollutant remediation applications.

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