Covalently bonded boron nitride quantum dot and reduced graphene oxide composite electrode for highly efficient supercapacitors

Abstract

This study investigates the synthesis and application of boron nitride quantum dot (BNQD) covalently bonded reduced graphene oxide (rGO) hybrid materials as a novel electrode material for supercapacitors. Because of the p-doping as well as the enhanced hydrophilicity and interfacial bonding force enabled by the hybridization of amine-functionalized boron nitride quantum dot (A-BNQD) with rGO via the chemical coupling reaction, the A-BNQD/rGO shows improved charge carrier density, wettability of electrolyte, and durability. As a result of the synergistic effects, the A-BNQD/rGO as a supercapacitor electrode shows much higher specific capacitance compared to those of rGO and raw BNQD/rGO at a current density of 1 A g−1. Further, the A-BNQD/rGO shows high cycling stability, maintaining almost 94.38%, even after 10,000 cycles due to the enhanced interfacial bonding force between the A-BNQD and rGO. Besides, the fabricated symmetric supercapacitor exhibits high specific capacitance (90 F g−1@1 A g−1), an energy density (12.5 Wh kg−1@0.5 kW kg−1), and good cycling stability. This result suggested that the fabricated A-BNQD/rGO has great potential as electrode materials for high-performance supercapacitors.