LASER light scribe and microwave annealing reduction of graphene oxide for supercapacitor applications

We presented a rapid and scalable method to fabricate reduced graphene oxide (rGO) by LASER and microwave annealing. The reduction of graphene oxide (GO) film by Laser light scribe DVD drive and by household microwave oven for scalable and rapid production was demonstrated. LASER light scribe reduction of GO (LSGO) can produce patterns for integrated circuits. Furthermore, microwave irradiation of GO enables rapid reduction of GO within seconds. The rGO produced was used to make graphene-based electrodes which exhibit supercapacitor characteristics. The fabrication and measurement results of rGO electrodes by LASER-only and by LASER-with-microwave-aided methods were compared. Microwave annealing is an ultrafast and cost-effective way to improve the quality of reduction of GO. The energy storage per unit area for the LASER with microwave aided reduction device is around 20Wh/Kg. The microwave aided LSGO produced was then fabricated to make graphene-based electrodes which have wide range of applications including batteries, fuel cell and supercapacitors.