Ultrafast Microwave Assisted Synthesis of Three-Dimensional Graphene Material and its Excellent Performance for Supercapacitors

Abstract

Ultrafast microwave assisted synthesis of three-dimensional graphene via one-step microwave irradiation method has been reported. The milligram-grade highly conductive acetylene black as the power conversion center, rapidly converts microwave energy into heat and forms local instantaneous high temperature, resulting in partial detachment of functional groups and promoting the recovery of the conductive network of the carbon layers within a few seconds. Interestingly, the nano-scaled acetylene black was found to be tightly bound to the lamella of the 3D graphene, the 3D graphene containing the few acetylene black exhibited a typical double-layer behavior with outstanding specific capacitance of 279.8 F g−1 at 0.5 A g−1 and high capacitance retention over 85% after 20000 cycles. A symmetric supercapacitor assembled in organic electrolyte shown a wide voltage window (0 - 2 V). These satisfactory results provide a potential solution for the manufacture of high-capacity electrochemical energy storage.