Microwave-Assisted Synthesis of Reduced Graphene Oxide with Hollow Nanostructure for Application to Lithium-Ion Batteries

• Published in: Nanomaterials (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 12; no. 9; p. 1507
• Main Authors: Lee, Minseop, Paek, Seung-Min
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 28.04.2022; MDPI
• Subjects: Carbon; Current density; Discharge; Electrodes; Electrostatic properties; Exfoliation; Experiments; Fourier transforms; Graphene; Graphite; hollow spheres; layer-by-layer self-assembly; Lithium; Lithium-ion batteries; Morphology; Nanostructure; Rechargeable batteries; reduced graphene oxide; Self-assembly; Spectrum analysis; Synthesis; Van der Waals forces; United States > US; Japan; lithium-ion batteries; reduced graphene oxide; layer-by-layer self-assembly; hollow spheres; Exfoliation
• ISSN: 2079-4991; 2079-4991
• DOI: 10.3390/nano12091507

In this study, reduced graphene oxide (RGO) with a hollow nanostructure was successfully synthesized by layer-by-layer self-assembly using electrostatic interactions and van der Waals forces between building blocks, and its lithium storage characteristics were investigated. After 800 cycles at a current density of 1 A/g, the microwave-irradiated RGO hollow spheres (MRGO-HS) maintained a capacity of 626 mA h/g. In addition, when the charge/discharge capacity was measured stepwise in the current density range of 0.1-2 A/g, the discharge capacity of the RGO rapidly decreased to 156 mA h/g even at the current density of 2 A/g, whereas MRGO-HS provided a capacity of 252 mA h/g. Even after the current density was restored at a current density of 0.1 A/g, the MRGO-HS capacity was maintained to be 827 mA h/g at the 100th cycle, which is close to the original reversible capacity. Thus, MRGO-HS provides a higher capacity and better rate capability than those of traditionally synthesized RGO.