Preparation and Characterization of Reduced Graphene Oxide Doped in Sol-Gel Derived Silica for Application in Electrochemical Double-Layer Capacitors

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University, P.O.Box 53714-161, Tabriz, Iran

Abstract

In this study, a new graphene ceramic composite (GCC) was prepared based on the reduced graphene
oxide (rGO) doped in sol-gel derived silica. The GCC was prepared by dispersing rGO nanosheets into
the sol-gel precursors containing methyl triethoxysilane, methanol and hydrochloric acid solution.
During an acid catalyzed hydrolyze reaction and gelation process, rGO nanosheets were successfully
doped into the prepared gel. The fabricated GCC was characterized by field emission scanning electron
microscopy, Transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray
diffraction, thermogravimetric analysis, cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge/discharge
techniques. According to the electrochemical results, the prepared GCC has shown remarkable specific
capacitance in comparison with carbon ceramic composite. Due to unique configuration of GCC and
large specific surface area of rGO, the resultant GCC shows specific capacitance of 428 F g
-1 at current
density of 1 A g
-1and good cycling stability using three electrode system.

Keywords