Template-free synthesis of Se-nanorods-rGO nanocomposite for application in supercapacitors

Abstract

Both selenium and reduced graphene oxide have low specific capacitance due to their chemical nature. Nevertheless, their specific capacitance could be enhanced by hybridizing Se nanomaterials with reduced graphene oxide via formation of electrochemical double layer at their interfacial area. Therefore, novel Se-nanorods/rGO nanocomposite was successfully synthesized by template free hot reflux route starting with graphene oxide and selenium dichloride. The composite of rGO decorated by Se-nanorods is characterized using X-ray diffractometry (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and nitrogen adsorption-desorption. The unique architecture of the composite exhibits high specific capacitance of 390 F/g at 5 mV/s scan rate in 1.0 M KOH solution with ~ 90% cyclic stability after 5000 cycles making it very promising electrode material for supercapacitor applications.