RGO-α-Fe2O3 nanocomposite by ex-situ synthesis developed on Ni foil for high performance supercapacitors

Abstract

This work effectively synthesizes α-Fe₂O₃ anchored reduced graphene oxide nanosheets (rGO NSs) for supercapacitor (SC) electrode applications using an easy and inexpensive ex-situ synthesis method. The structural, morphological and elemental composition of the produced nanocomposite electrodes have been examined using X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analyses. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD) and cyclic voltammetry (C-V) experiments were used to analyze the electrochemical behavior of rGO/α-Fe₂O₃ nanocomposites in 3 M KOH electrolyte. The binary 15% rGO-α-Fe₂O₃ (RF3) nanocomposite’s electrochemical performance shows a high specific capacitance of 380.6 Fg⁻¹ at a scan rate of 30 mVs⁻¹, along with an outstanding cyclic retention of 93.40% even after 2000 cycles. The specific capacitance of rGO/α-Fe₂O₃ composite synthesized by ex-situ method is higher than rGO and α-Fe₂O₃ and rGO/α-Fe₂O₃ composites synthesiszed by differents methods which is the novelty of this research work. Because of their excellent electrochemical performance and ease of manufacture, rGO/α-Fe₂O₃ nanocomposites can be used to great advantage in supercapacitors.