Green synthesis of Co3O4/graphene nanocomposite as cathode for magnesium batteries

Abstract

Ultrafine Co3O4 nanoparticles homogeneously attached to graphene sheets by sonochemical method have been demonstrated as a promising cathode material for magnesium batteries. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) have been employed to characterize the structural properties of this material. SEM analyses clearly confirmed that the Co3O4 nanoparticles have been uniformly coated on the entire surface of graphene sheets to form a compact composite. The Co3O4-graphene nanocomposite was employed as a cathode electrode in magnesium-ion batteries, and their electrochemical properties were briefly investigated. The graphene sheets can also effectively buffer the volume change in Co3O4 upon magnesium insertion/extraction, thus improving the cycling preformance of the composite electrode. It was revealed that the Co3O4-graphene composite can provide a small capacity of 16 mAh-g-1 using a new nonaqueous electrolyte that is tetrahydrofuran-free, which provides a new direction to explore cathode materials for Mg batteries.