Facile Synthesis of Co₃O₄/Mildly Oxidized Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes/Reduced Mildly Oxidized Graphene Oxide Ternary Composite as the Material for Supercapacitors

Abstract

A three-dimensional (3D) Co 3 O 4 /mildly oxidized multiwalled carbon nanotubes (moCNTs)/reduced mildly oxidized graphene oxide (rmGO) ternary composite was prepared via a simple and green hydrolysishydrothermal approach by mixing Co(Ac) 2 ·4H 2 O with moCNTs and mGO suspension in mixed ethanol/H 2 O. As characterized by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy, Co 3 O 4 nanoparticles with size of 20-100 nm and moCNTs are effectively anchored in mGO. Cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge-discharge measurements were adopted to investigate the electrochemical properties of Co 3 O 4 /moCNTs/ rmGO ternary composite in 6 M KOH solution. In a potential window of 0-0.6 V vs. Hg/HgO, the composite delivers an initial specific capacitance of 492 F g −1 at 0.5 A g −1 and the capacitance remains 592 F g −1 after 2000 cycles, while the pure Co 3 O 4 shows obviously capacitance fading, indicating that rmGO and moCNTs greatly enhance the electrochemical performance of Co 3 O 4 .