Low temperature growth of three-dimensional network of graphene for high-performance supercapacitor electrodes
Introduction
Graphene is a two-dimensional (2D) monolayer of carbon atoms that has received significant attention due to its excellent properties [1], [2]. The 2D planar structure of graphene makes it compatible with traditional electronic devices. However, the irreversible stacking of graphene sheets during transferring, severely suppresses its high conductivity and diminishes its surface area [3]. One effective method to tackle this challenge is to construct three-dimensional (3D) graphene networks. The 3D structures provide graphene with high specific surface areas and fast electron transport kinetics due to the combination of 3D porous structures and its excellent intrinsic properties. In addition, the applications of graphene-based materials in energy and biological fields also require assembly of 2D graphene sheets into 3D architectures [3], [4], [5].
Tremendous effects have been devoted to developing 3D graphene including graphene aerogels (GAs) and graphene foams (GFs). However, the electrical and mechanical properties of graphene will be degraded during GAs synthesis process [6], [7], [8], and GFs growth usually requires at a high temperature (i.e., 1050 °C) [9], [10], [11], [12]. In order to address this issue, low temperature CVD growth of graphene urgently needs to be achieved.
In this work, we report a facile approach to directly grow 3D network of graphene, in which camphor instead of common used methane and a two-temperature-zone furnace instead of a normal one-zone furnace have been performed. 3D network of graphene can form and inherit the macroporous structures of Ni templates at a low temperature of 550 °C. A free-standing, flexible and highly conductive 3D graphene network can be obtained which exhibits a high specific capacitance of 390 F/g. The resulting 3D network of graphene has potential applications in energy conversion and storage systems.
Section snippets
Experimental
The synthesis of 3D network of graphene and its integration are illustrated in Fig. 1. Ni foams were chosen as the templates for graphene growth (Fig. 1a). Carbon was introduced into Ni foams at 550 °C by decomposion of camphor at 200 °C in a CVD chamber (Fig. 1b). After Ni etching, a monolith of free-standing 3D graphene network with continuity and interconnection presented (Fig. 1c). It was worthy to mention that unlike others’ work [5], [6], [9], the graphene network obtained in our work
Raman characterization
Fig. 2a shows the characteristic peak (2D peak) of graphene can be detected even when the growth temperature is down to 550 °C, while for methane as the precursor, the reported lowest temperature of CVD graphene growth is over 800 °C [13], [14]. Camphor is less stable than methane, leading to a lower energy barrier of camphor decomposition than methane. Fig. 2a and b shows ID/IG increases from 0.09 to 1.78 when the growth temperature decreases from 850 °C to 550 °C, implying the intensity of D
Conclusion
In summary, a facile and low-temperature (550 °C) CVD route is developed to grow high-quality 3D graphene network using camphor as the feedstock. A free-standing and highly conductive 3D graphene network can be obtained to act as an efficient supercapacitor electrode and exhibits a high specific capacitance of 390F/g. This research provides a feasible method for low-cost, high-performance and renewable materials in energy conversion and storage devices.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Shanghai Sailing Program (Grant No. 17YF1422700) and the National Scientific Foundation of Shanghai (Grant No. 16ZR1442300). We would like to thank Prof. Xiaoming Xie, Prof. Ya-Hong Xie, Prof. Zengfeng Di, A. Prof. Yan Cheng for their generous help.
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