Tert-butylhydroquinone-decorated graphene nanosheets and their enhanced capacitive behaviors

Abstract

In the present work, tert-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) was used to decorate graphene nanosheets to obtain a novel and environmentally friendly electrode material for supercapacitors. The fast redox reactions between hydroquinone and quinone generate pseudocapacitance. Graphene layers which have adsorbed TBHQ interact with each other to construct a three-dimensional network. Through this network, electrolyte ions can easily access the surface of graphene to generate electric double-layer capacitance. Electrochemical measurements have shown that using TBHQ as a redox modifier of graphene can obtain a maximum value of 302 F g-1 and provide a 51% enhancement in specific capacitance. Furthermore, excellent rate capability and cycling ability are achieved using the TBHQ-decorated graphene nanosheet electrode. © 2011 Science China Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.