A simple route to prepare a Cu2O-CuO-GN nanohybrid for high-performance electrode materials

Abstract

Cu2O-CuO-GN nanohybrid is prepared by a simple electrochemical method by applying a positive and negative pulse electric signal on a dispersion of a mixture of GO and Cu(NO3)2. During the process, reduction of graphene oxide and deposition of Cu2O-CuO on GN occur simultaneously. The nanohybrid is systematically characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Cu2O-CuO nanoparticles with diameters around 100 nm are uniformly distributed on the GN. In addition, the electrochemical properties of the Cu2O-CuO-GN nanohybrid are investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge/discharge (DC) and electrochemical impedance spectrometry measurements (EIS). The Cu2O-CuO-GN nanohybrid shows a higher specific capacitance (222 F g−1 at 1 A g−1) than that of pure GN (143 F g−1 at 1 A g−1) prepared under the same conditions. This approach opens up the possibility for fabrication of high-performance GN-based electrode materials.