Anchoring Samarium Oxide Nanoparticles on Reduced Graphene Oxide for High-Performance Supercapacitor Publisher



Dezfuli AS¹ ; Ganjali MR^{1, 2} ; Naderi HR¹ Show Affiliations
Source: Applied Surface Science Published:2017

Abstract

We have synthesized Sm 2 O 3 nanoparticles (SmNs) and anchored them onto the surface of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) through a self-assembly thereof by utilizing a facile sonochemical procedure. The nanomaterials were characterized by means of powder X-ray diffraction (XRD), Field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) spectra, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). As the next step, the supercapacitive behavior of the resulting nanocomposites were investigated when used as electrode material, through with cyclic voltammetric (CV), galvanostatic charge-discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) techniques. The SmNs decorated RGO (SmN-RGO) nanocomposites were found to possess a specific capacitance (SC) of 321 F g −1 when used in a 0.5 M Na 2 SO 4 solution as an electrolyte, in a scan rate of 2 mV s −1 . The SC of the SmN-RGO based electrodes were also found to be 268 F g −1 at a current density of 2 A g −1 through galvanostatic charge-discharge tests. The outstanding properties of the SmN-RGOs were attributed to synergy of the high charge mobility of SmNs and the flexibility of the sheets of RGOs. Additionally, the nano-composite revealed a unique cycling durability (maintaining 99% of its SC even after 4000 cycles). © 2017 Elsevier B.V.