2D materials, their features and possible approaches to mitigating the challenges in Li–S batteries are discussed.

Nanostructured hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN)/reduced graphene oxide (RGO) composite is prepared by insertion of h-BN into the graphene oxide through hydrothermal reaction. Formation of the super lattice is confirmed by the existence of two separate UV-visible absorption edges corresponding to two different band gaps. The composite materials show enhanced electrical conductivity as compared to the bulk h-BN. A high specific capacitance of ∼824 F g(-1) is achieved at a current density of 4 A g(-1) for the composite in three-electrode electrochemical measurement. The potential window of the composite electrode lies in the range from -0.1 to 0.5 V in 6 M aqueous KOH electrolyte. The operating voltage is increased to 1.4 V in asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) device where the thermally reduced graphene oxide is used as the negative electrode and the h-BN/RGO composite as the positive electrode. The ASC exhibits a specific capacitance of 145.7 F g(-1) at a current density of 6 A g(-1) and high energy density of 39.6 W h kg(-1) corresponding to a large power density of ∼4200 W kg(-1). Therefore, a facile hydrothermal route is demonstrated for the first time to utilize h-BN-based composite materials as energy storage electrode materials for supercapacitor applications.

Sulfanilic acid azocromotrop (SAC) modified reduced graphene oxide (SAC-RGO) was prepared by simple non-covalent functionalization of graphene oxide (GO) followed by post reduction using hydrazine monohydrate. Spectral analysis (Fourier transform infrared, Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) revealed that successful modification had occurred of GO with SAC through p-p interaction. The electrical conductivity of SAC-RGO was found to be $551 S m À1 . The capacitive performance of SAC-RGO was recorded using a three electrode set up with 1 (M) aqueous H 2 SO 4 as the electrolyte. The -SO 3 H functionalities of SAC contributed pseudocapacitance as evidenced from the redox peaks (at $0.43 and 0.27 V) present in the cyclic voltammetric (CV) curves measured for SAC-RGO. The contribution of electrical double layer capacitance was evidenced from the near rectangular shaped CV curves and resulted in a high specific capacitance of 366 F g À1 at a current density of 1.2 A g À1 for SAC-RGO electrode. An asymmetric device (SAC-RGO//RGO) was designed with SAC-RGO as the positive electrode and RGO as the negative electrode. The device showed an energy density of $25.8 W h kg À1 at a power density of $980 W kg À1 . The asymmetric device showed retention in specific capacitance of $72% after 5000 charge-discharge cycles. The Nyquist data of the device was fitted with Z-view and different components (solution resistance, charge-transfer resistance and Warburg elements) were calculated from the fitted curves.

A simple and effective method using 6-amino-4-hydroxy-2-naphthalenesulfonic acid (ANS) for the synthesis of water dispersible graphene has been described. Ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectroscopy reveals that ANS-modified reduced graphene oxide (ANS-rGO) obeys Beers law at moderate concentrations. Fourier transform infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies provide quantitative information regarding the removal of oxygen functional groups from graphene oxide (GO) and the appearance of new functionalities in ANS-rGO. The electrochemical performances of ANS-rGO have been determined by cyclic voltammetry, charge-discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analysis. Charge-discharge experiments show that ANS-rGO is an outstanding supercapacitor electrode material due to its high specific capacitance (375 F g(-1) at a current density of 1.3 A g(-1)) and very good electrochemical cyclic stability (∼97.5% retention in specific capacitance after 1000 charge-discharge cycles). ANS-rGO exhibits promising characteristics with a very high power density (1328 W kg(-1)) and energy density (213 W h kg(-1)).

Highly porous nano-structured Fe3O4 particles were successfully prepared on the surface of reduced graphene oxide (RGO) sheets through a one-step hydrothermal method.

Nanostructured mixed multi-metal compounds (NCM) based on nickel (Ni), cobalt (Co), and manganese (Mn) are considered as promising electrode materials owing to their multiple valence states, facile accessibility to active sites, and low activation energy for electron transfer.

No abstract

Ni–Co–BH–G was prepared by using a SILAR technique and the corresponding asymmetric supercapacitor showed an energy density of 92 W h kg−1.