Tuning electrical conductivity and surface area of chemically-exfoliated graphene through nanocrystal functionalization Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • Silver nanocrystals were used to prevent the stacking of exfoliated graphene and to improve its conductivity. They were deposited onto chemically-exfoliated graphene through self-assembly and subsequent reduction of silver ions. Characterization by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy has confirmed the formation of silver/graphene hybrid. The nitrogen adsorption/desorption tests indicated that the nanoparticles inhibited the restacking of these sheets, resulting in larger active surface areas. The electrical conductivity of silver-deposited graphene was increased by nearly 3 times. The hybrid material was also used as an electrode of a supercapacitor and the capacitance of 326 F g -1 was achieved at a scan rate of 2 mV s -1 . In contrast, as-produced chemically-exfoliated graphene based supercapacitors exhibited a capacitance of 109 F g -1 . These results provide a valuable guidance for tuning the properties of chemically-exfoliated graphene in potential applications. 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

published proceedings

  • MATERIALS CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS

author list (cited authors)

  • Zhang, Y., Wang, S., Li, L. i., Zhang, K., Qiu, J., Davis, M., & Hope-Weeks, L. J.

citation count

  • 40

complete list of authors

  • Zhang, Yue||Wang, Shiren||Li, Li||Zhang, Kun||Qiu, Jingjing||Davis, Marauo||Hope-Weeks, Louisa J

publication date

  • January 2012