Effect of Graphene Concentration on the Electrochemical Properties of Cobalt Ferrite Nanocomposite Materials.

Firas S Alruwashid,Nabeel H Alharthi,Hany S Abdo,Mushtaq A Dar

doi:10.3390/nano11102523

Firas S Alruwashid, Nabeel H Alharthi + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/nano11102523

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Abstract

A two-step process was applied to synthesize the cobalt ferrite-graphene composite materials in a one-pot hydrothermal reaction process. Graphene Oxide (GO) was synthesized by a modified Hummer’s method. The synthesized composite materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The XRD and FTIR results were in good agreement with the TGA/DTG observations. SEM and TEM disclosed the spherical shape of the nanoparticles in 4–10 nm. The optimized CoFe2O4-G (1–5 wt.%) composite materials samples were tried for their conductivity, supercapacity, and corrosion properties. The CV results demonstrated a distinctive behavior of the supercapacitor, while the modified CoFe2O4-G (5 wt.%) electrode demonstrated a strong reduction in the Rct value (~94 Ω). The highest corrosion current density valves and corrosion rates were attained in the CoFe2O4-G (5 wt.%) composite materials as 5.53 and 0.20, respectively. The high conductivity of graphene that initiated the poor corrosion rate of the CoFe2O4-graphene composite materials could be accredited to the high conductivity and reactivity.

Highlights

Nanostructured materials have caught the attention of the materials’ community over the past few decades
The outcome of the results revealed that the effect of graphene oxide ratio in the CoFe2 O4 composites had a great impact in terms of morphology and structural and electronical performance
In the X-ray diffraction (XRD) patterns of the nanocomposites of 3% and 5%, which could be related to the percentage of graphene [19,20,21,22,23]

Summary

Introduction

Nanostructured materials have caught the attention of the materials’ community over the past few decades. It was discovered that materials could be involved in multiple applications, the ones related to batteries and sensors [1,2]. Nanostructured materials can be found in many forms, such as metal oxides. Metal oxide is known to be a common nanomaterial that is considered a powerful option as a catalyst or an enhancer to another material [3]. Multiple studies have been done on metal oxides due to their superior properties that they exhibit in more than one application. The focus of this study was on a metal oxide, namely, the cobalt ferrite nanostructured material

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