The effect of dispersion status with functionalized graphenes for electric double-layer capacitors

Graphene with oxygen (M-rGO and H-rGO) and nitrogen (N-rGO) related functional groups have been fabricated. Reduced graphenes including H-rGO, M-rGO and N-rGO were mixed with activated carbons as the composite electrodes and characterized for supercapacitors. The effects of the functional groups on graphenes as the conductive additive have been investigated. It was found that a suitable content of functional groups can improve the stability of dispersion, and therefore reduce the internal resistance (IR drop) and charge transfer resistance (Rct) resulting in higher rate capability. The supercapacitor with M-rGO and KS6 as additive at the activated carbon electrode can be operated at a rate as high as 6 A/g and exhibits a capacitance of 208 F/g, whereas the supercapacitor using only KS6 as additive shows a capacitance of only 107 F/g. The graphene contained supercapacitor has been cycled over 2000 times at 4 A/g with almost no capacitance fading.