Controlled synthesis of MnSn(OH)6/graphene nanocomposites and their electrochemical properties as capacitive materials

We report the synthesis of novel MnSn(OH)₆/graphene nanocomposites produced by a co-precipitation method and their potential application for electrochemical energy storage. The hydroxide decorated graphene nanocomposites display better performance over pure MnSn(OH)₆ nanoparticles because the graphene sheets act as conductive bridges improving the ionic and electronic transport. The crystallinity of MnSn(OH)₆ nanoparticles deposited on the surface of graphene sheets also impacts the capacitive properties as electrodes. The maximum capacitance of 31.2 F/g (59.4 F/g based on the mass of MnSn(OH)₆ nanoparticles) was achieved for the sample with a low degree of crystallinity. No significant degradation of capacitance occurred after 500 cycles at a current density of 1.5 A/g in 1 M Na₂SO₄ aqueous solution, indicating an excellent electrochemical stability. The results serve as an example demonstrating the potential of integrating highly conductive graphene networks into binary metal hydroxide in improving the performance of active electrode materials for electrochemical energy storage applications.     

Graphene oxide doped polyaniline for supercapacitors

A novel high-performance electrode material based on fibrillar polyaniline (PANI) doped with graphene oxide sheets was synthesized via in situ polymerization of monomer in the presence of graphene oxide, with a high conductivity of 10 S cm^?1 at 22 °C for the obtained nanocomposite with a mass ratio of aniline/graphite oxide, 100:1. Its high specific capacitance of 531 F/g was obtained in the potential range from 0 to 0.45 V at 200 mA/g by charge–discharge analysis compared to 216 F/g of individual PANI. The doping and the ratio of graphene oxide have a pronounced effect on the electrochemical capacitance performance of the nanocomposites.     

Facile one-pot synthesis of fluorinated graphene oxide for electrochemical sensing of heavy metal ions

Doping and functionalization could significantly assist in the improvement of the electrochemical properties of graphene derivatives. Herein, we report a one-pot synthesis of fluorinated graphene oxide (FGO) from graphite. The surface morphology, functionalities and composition of the resulting FGO have been studied using various surface characterization techniques, revealing that layer-structured nanosheets with ~ 1.0 at.% F were formed. The carbon bound F exhibited semi-ionic bonding characteristic and significantly increased the capacitance of FGO compared to GO. Further, the FGO has been employed for the simultaneous detection of heavy metal ions Cd^2 +, Pb^2 +, Cu^2 + and Hg^2 + using square wave anodic stripping voltammetry; and a substantial improvement in the electrochemical sensing performance is achieved in comparison with GO.     

Synthesis and characterization of a nanocomposite of goethite nanorods and reduced graphene oxide for electrochemical capacitors

We report a one-step synthesis of a nanocomposite of goethite (α-FeOOH) nanorods and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) using a solution method in which ferrous cations serve as a reducing agent of graphite oxide (GO) to graphene and a precursor to grow goethite nanorods. As-prepared goethite nanorods have an average length of 200 nm and a diameter of 30 nm and are densely attached on both sides of the RGO sheets. The electrochemical properties of the nanocomposite were characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronopotentiometry (CP) charge–discharge tests. The results showed that goethite/RGO composites have a high electrochemical capacitance of 165.5 F g^?1 with an excellent recycling capability making the material promising for electrochemical capacitors.     

Constructing a hierarchical graphene–carbon nanotube architecture for enhancing exposure of graphene and electrochemical activity of Pt nanoclusters

Stacking of individual graphene sheets (GS) is effectively inhibited by introducing one-dimensional carbon nanotubes to form a 3-D hierarchical structure which enhances the utilization of GS-based composites. From SEM images, CNTs are useful nanospacers for diminishing the face-to-face aggregation of GS. The specific electrochemically active surface area (SECSA) and specific double-layer capacitance (C_S,DL) of Pt/GS–CNTs (127.9 m²/g, 171.3 F/g) is much higher than that of Pt/GS (105.4 m²/g, 104.7 F/g) and Pt/CNTs (51.5 m²/g, 37.1 F/g), revealing the synergistic effects between GS and CNTs on enhancing the electrochemical activity of Pt nanoparticles and electrolyte-accessible surface area.     

Nitrogen enriched mesoporous carbon spheres obtained by a facile method and its application for electrochemical capacitor

A kind of mesoporous carbon spheres (MCS) containing in-frame incorporated nitrogen has been prepared by a facile polymerization-induced colloid aggregation method. As the electrode material for electric double layer capacitor (EDLC) in 5 mol/L H₂SO₄, the MCS products present excellent specific capacitance as 211 F/g much larger than that of the most popularly applied activated carbon at a high discharge current density of 1 A/g. Its specific capacitance can still remain 200 F/g at 20 A/g. The superior electrochemical performance of MCS is associated with the following characteristics: high specific surface area (∼1330 m²/g) contributed mainly by the mesopores, uniform pore size as large as 29 nm and moderate content of nitrogen (10 wt%), which are the requirements for ideal supercapacitors.     

Mesoporous tubular graphene electrode for high performance supercapacitor

Mesopores tubular graphene, synthesized by template method, have unique bi-directional ions transfer channel in unstack graphene layers and high mesopore ratio, exhibiting excellent capacitance performance in the EDLC using ionic liquid electrolyte at 4 V.     

Electrochemical characterization on cobalt sulfide for electrochemical supercapacitors

High capacitance at a high charge–discharge current density of 50 mA/cm² for a new type of electrochemical supercapacitor cobalt sulfide (CoS_x) have been studied for the first time. The CoS_x was prepared by a very simply chemical precipitation method. The electrochemical capacitance performance of this compound was investigated by cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and galvanostatic charge–discharge tests with a three-electrode system. The results show that CoS_x has excellent electrochemical capacitive characteristic with potential range −0.3 ∼ 0.35 V (versus SCE) in 6 M KOH solution. Charge–discharge behaviors have been observed with the highest specific capacitance values of 475 F/g at the current density of 5 mA/cm², even at the high current density of 50 mA/cm², CoS_x also shows the high specific capacitance values of 369 F/g.     

Quantifying the electrochemical maleimidation of large area graphene

The covalent modification of large-area graphene sheets by p-(N-Maleimido)phenyl (p-MP) via electrochemical grafting of p-(N-Maleimido)benzenediazonium tetrafluoroborate (p-MBDT) is successfully demonstrated for the first time. The deposition process is monitored in-situ using the mass change of a graphene/SiNX:H/Au-coated quartz crystal microbalance(QCM) chip. The resulting mass increase correlates with a maleimide thickness of approximately 2.3 molecular layers. The presence of an infrared absorption band at 1726 cm-1 shows that maleimide groups were deposited on the substrates. Raman backscattering spectra reveal the presence of D and D′ modes of the graphene layer, indicating that p-MP forms covalent bonds to graphene. Using the mass change and charge transfer during the potential cycling the faradaic efficiency of the functionalisation process was deduced, which amounts to eta = 22%.     

The superior electrochemical performance of oxygen-rich activated carbons prepared from bituminous coal

Oxygen-rich activated carbons (OAC) were prepared from bituminous coal through a quick KOH activation. OAC exhibited a moderately large surface area of 1950 m²/g, a relative wide pore size distribution, good conductivity and very high oxygen content (up to 12 wt.%). Compared with high surface area activated carbons prepared by the conventional KOH activation, OAC have superior capacitive behavior, power output and high energy density in electrochemical double layer capacitors (EDLC). OAC presented a high specific capacitance of 370 F/g in 3 M KOH electrolyte at a low current density of 50 mA/g and still remained 270 F/g even at a high current density of 20 A/g.     

Vertical crosslinking MoS2/three-dimensional graphene composite towards high performance supercapacitor

The vertical crosslinking MoS₂/three-dimensional graphene composite has been prepared by hydrothermal method, which delivered a superior and stable electrochemical capacitive performance.     

Preparation of activated carbon from Turbinaria turbinata seaweeds and its use as supercapacitor electrode materials

Turbinaria turbinata brown seaweeds were tested as carbon electrode material in symmetric, electrochemical supercapacitors. The electrochemical properties of the carbon materials were characterised for their application as supercapacitors using cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge/discharge method and electrochemical impedance spectroscopic analyses. Our initial results showed that the optimal behaviour was obtained for the sample prepared by pyrolysis at 800 °C. The average surface area of the carbon was 812 m²/g. Electrochemical tests with an organic electrolyte gave the following interesting results: a capacitance of 74.5 F/g, a specific series resistance of 0.5 Ω cm² and an ionic resistivity of 1.3 Ω cm². These results show the promising capacitive properties of carbon derived from seaweeds and their application in electrochemical supercapacitors.     

Striking capacitance of carbon/iodide interface

Exceptional electrochemical behavior of carbon/iodide interface has been demonstrated and successfully used in supercapacitor application. This efficient charge storage is based on specific sorption of iodide ions as well as stable reversible redox reactions connected with various possible oxidation states of iodine from ?1 to +5. An intriguing effect of iodide ions has been observed for positive electrode operating in a narrow range of potential and giving extremely high capacitance values exceeding 1840 F/g. As opposed to typical pseudocapacitance effects, which are often characterized by some diffusion limitations and observed only at moderate regimes, our two-electrode system can be loaded until 50 A/g supplying still 125 F/g. Amazing capacitance of carbon/iodide interface has also been confirmed during long-term cycling (over 10 000 cycles). For the first time, such an innovative electrochemical system was successfully used for supercapacitor performance. The iodide ions play a useful dual role, i.e. electrolytic solution with a good ionic conductivity as well as a source of pseudo-capacitive effects.     

Flexible free-standing graphene-silicon composite film for lithium-ion batteries

Flexible, free-standing, paper-like, graphene-silicon composite materials have been synthesized by a simple, one-step, in-situ filtration method. The Si nanoparticles are highly encapsulated in a graphene nanosheet matrix. The electrochemical results show that graphene-Si composite film has much higher discharge capacity beyond 100 cycles (708 mAh g^? 1) than that of the cell with pure graphene (304 mAh g^? 1). The graphene functions as a flexible mechanical support for strain release, offering an efficient electrically conducting channel, while the nanosized silicon provides the high capacity.     

Hollow Co9S8 from metal organic framework supported on rGO as electrode material for highly stable supercapacitors

We demonstrate a hydrothermal method to fabricate a composite of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) with hollow Co₉S₈ derived from metal organic framework (MOF), which exhibits a high specific capacitance of 575.9 F/g at 2 A/g and 92.0% capacitance retention after 9000 cycles.     

Preparation of a poly(methyl methacrylate)-reduced graphene oxide composite with enhanced properties by a solution blending method

Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)/graphene nanocomposites were prepared by a simple solution blending method. The glass transition temperature of the produced PMMA/graphene composite was increased by 37 °C with 1.0 wt.% RGO content, which is approximately 40% of improvement compared to that of pure PMMA. The thermal expansion coefficient (TEC) decreased by 68% with as low as 0.1 wt.% RGO loading. The electrical conductivity of the nanocomposites reached up to 0.037 S/m even with only 2.0 wt.% RGO, which increased by more than twelve orders of magnitude. The resulting nanocomposites showed that a stable colloidal suspension of graphene dispersion in organic solvent before blending with PMMA is necessary to fabricate the nanocomposites with enhanced properties.     

A strategy for scalable synthesis of Li4Ti5O12/reduced graphene oxide toward high rate lithium-ion batteries

Li₄Ti₅O₁₂/reduced graphene oxide (RGO) composites were prepared via a simple strategy. The as-prepared composites present Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ nanoparticles uniformly immobilized on the RGO sheets. The Li₄Ti₅O₁₂/RGO composites possess excellent electrochemical properties with good cycle stability and high specific capacities of 154 mAh g^− 1 (at 10C) and 149 mAh g^− 1 (at 20C), much higher than the results found in other literatures. The superior electrochemical performance of the Li₄Ti₅O₁₂/RGO composites is attributed to its unique hybrid structure of conductive graphene network with the uniformly dispersed Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ nanoparticles.     

Nanocomposite of manganese ferrocyanide and graphene: A promising cathode material for rechargeable lithium ion batteries

A nanocomposite of potassium manganese ferrocyanide and graphene (12% C, 88% K_1.8Mn_1.1Fe(CN)₆∙ 0.27H₂O) was prepared by ball milling of graphene oxide powder and nanoparticles of manganese–iron Prussian Blue. It exhibits enhanced electrochemical performance compared to pure Prussian Blue with a specific capacity of 150 mAhg^− 1 at average 3.8 V vs. Li⁺/Li and a good cyclability. The nanocomposite can be considered as competitive to standard cathode materials of present rechargeable lithium ion batteries like cobalt oxide, iron phosphate or NMC.     

Polypyrrole/carbon supercapacitor electrode with remarkably enhanced high-temperature cycling stability by TiC nanoparticle inclusion

In the potential applications for electric vehicle and stand-alone renewable energy storage, supercapacitors are likely to constantly operate at elevate temperatures, and yet the study on high-temperature cycling behavior of conducting polymer-containing supercapactors is scarce. Polypyrrole (PPy) film, doped with p-toluenesulfonate, has been coated onto activated carbon (AC) electrode preform. Although the specific capacitance of the electrode is doubled, from 176 F/g to 352 F/g, with coating of 17.7 wt.% PPy, the capacitance lost nearly 60% after 10,000 cycles at 40 °C, in contrast to 20% loss at 25 °C. It is demonstrated that the problem of accelerated fading at high temperature is effectively alleviated, in conjunction with significant (up to 50%) improvement in power performance, by embedding conductive TiC nanoparticles within the PPy layer via co-electroplating. With addition of 1.7 wt.% of TiC in the composite electrode, the capacitance retains 92% of its initial capacitance under the same cycling condition (40 °C, 10,000 cycles). The enhanced high-temperature cycling stability has in part been attributed to the reduction in the mismatch of thermal expansion coefficient between the conducting polymer layer and the AC substrate.     

Preparation of monodisperse carbon nanospheres for electrochemical capacitors

The efficiently hydrothermal route using sucrose without any catalysts is employed to prepare the uniform carbon spheres. The monodisperse 100–150 nm carbon spheres are obtained with the activation treatment in molten KOH. The carbon spheres are characterized by transmission electron microscope, X-ray diffraction, N₂ adsorption, Raman spectroscopy and electrochemical techniques. The relationships of specific capacitance and surface properties of carbon spheres are investigated. A single electrode of carbon nanosphere materials performs excellent specific capacitance (328 F g⁻¹), area capacitance (19.2 μF cm⁻²) and volumetric capacitance (383 F cm⁻³).