Facile synthesis of rGO@ CoO nanocomposites electrode material for photocatalytic hydrogen generation and supercapacitor applications

Abstract

Herein this work, a simple one-step hydrothermal method for decorating CoO nanostructures uniformly on rGO surfaces. The produced CoO/rGO electrode material was uniformly characterised physiochemical techniques to determine its structure and its morphological behaviour. The CoO nanostructures deposited on rGO surfaces could act effectively as a highly conductive material that aids in uniform redox reactions. Electrochemical measurements indicate that the CoO/rGO nancomposite modified electrode has a specific capacitance value of 592 F g−1 at 2 A g−1 in 1 M aqueous KOH with a good stability of 90% capacitance stability even after 3000 charge-discharged cycles, making it an attractive material for use in electrochemical energy storage devices. Furthermore, the RGO has mainly double role as electron mediator to improve the charge transportation and improving the light absorption behaviour in the visible light region. The constructed CoO/rGO nanocomposite applied as photocatalyst for water splitting exhibits improved H2 production (830 μmol h−1 g−1) under the visible light. The major findings of this work offer a unique opportunity for constructing visible light response photoactive material, and electrochemical redox capacitors for energy needs.