Graphene and Fe3O4 were bound by electrostatic attraction and prepared by effective reduction through microwave treatments. As a result of fabricating graphene with Fe3O4 as a composite material, it has been confirmed that it contributes to the structural improvement in graphene stabilization and at the same time, it shows improved electrochemical performance through improved charge transfer. It was also confirmed that the crystalline Fe3O4 was uniformly dispersed in the rGO sheet, effectively blocking the reaggregation due to the van der Waals interaction between the neighboring rGO sheets. The structural analysis of prepared composites was confirmed by transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffractometer. Electrochemical properties of composites were studied by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge–discharge curves, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The Fe3O4 (0.4 M)/rGO composite showed a high specific capacitance of 972 F g−1 at the current density of 1 A g−1 in 6 M KOH electrolyte, which is higher than that of the pristine materials rGO (251 F g−1) and Fe3O4 (183 F g−1). Also, the prepared composites showed a very stable cyclic behavior at high current density, as well as an improvement in comparison with pristine materials in terms of resistance.
Nitrogen-atom doped graphene oxide was considered to prevent the dissolution of polysulfide and to guarantee the enhanced redox reaction of sulfur for good cycle performance of lithium sulfur cells. In this study, we used urea as a nitrogen source due to its low cost and easy preparation. To find the optimum urea content, we tested three different ratios of urea to graphene oxide. The morphology of the composites was examined by field emission scanning electron microscope. Functional groups and bonding characterization were measured by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Electrochemical properties were characterized by cyclic voltammetry in an organic electrolyte solution. Compared with thermally reduced graphene/sulfur (S) composite, nitrogen-doped graphene/S composites showed higher electroactivity and more stable capacity retention.
In this study, we present a more electrochemically enhanced electrode using activated carbon (AC)-sulfur (S) composite materials, which have high current density. The morphological and micro-structure properties were investigated by transmission electron microscopy. Quantity of sulfur was measured by thermogravimetric analysis analysis. The electrochemical behaviors were investigated by cyclic voltammetry. As a trapping carbon structure, AC could provide a porous structure for containing sulfur. We were able to confirm that the AC-S composite electrode had superior electrochemical activity.