Graphene metal oxide composite supercapacitor electrodes

Abstract

This study presents composite electrode materials based on graphene oxide (GO) and transition metal oxide nanostructures for supercapacitor applications. Electrophoretic deposition of GO on a conductive substrate was used to form reduced graphene oxide (rGO) films through chemical reduction. The specific capacitance of the rGO was calculated up to 117 F/g at 100 mV/s scan rate from KOH (1 M) electrolyte using an Ag/AgCl reference electrode. The strong interaction of GO with Co3O4 and MnO2 nanostructures was demonstrated in the self-assembled Langmuir–Blodgett monolayer composite, showing the potential to fabricate thin film supercapacitor electrodes without using binder materials. This two-step process is nontoxic and scalable and holds promise for improved energy density from redox capacitance in comparison with the conventional double layer supercapacitors.