Asymmetric Ultracapacitor Produced By Sulphur Reduced Graphene Oxide/Metal Oxide Composite with High Energy Density and Outstanding Cycling

Monday, 10 October 2022
D. J. Tarimo (University of Pretoria), K. Oyedotun (0124204538), A. Mirghin, N. F. Sylla, and N. Manyala (University of Pretoria)
The morphology comprises of nano-rods/fibers, nano-sheet and nano-flower like structure were successfully produced from sulphur reduced graphene oxide/manganese dioxide composite for ultracapacitor application. The electrochemical evaluations of the optimal sample presented a specific capacitance of 180.40 F g-1 at 1 A g-1 in 2.5 M KNO3 electrolyte in a three-electrode set-up. An asymmetric device made up of sulphur reduced graphene oxide/manganese dioxide composite and activated carbon as a positive and negative electrode, respectively, delivered a high specific energy and power of 71.74 Wh kg-1 and 850 W kg-1 at 1 A g-1. It was further noticed that the device was able to retain a specific energy of 55.30 Wh kg-1 even at high specific current of 5 A g-1. An outstanding cycling stability with a capacitance retention of 94.5 % and energy efficiency of 99.9 % for up to 10,000 cycles was noted at 5 A g-1. The device revealed an excellent stability after being subjected to a voltage holding of up to 90 h and an exceptional self-discharge of about 1.45 V was recorded within the first 10 h and 1.00 V after 72 h from its maximum voltage of 1.7 V. The results obtained confirms that the produced material offers a great potential for the application of high energy density supercapacitor.

Keywords: Graphene oxide; Energy density; Supercapacitor; Shuttle effects; Composite materials; Sulphur.