Carbon materials are widely used in making electrodes for various energy storage devices such as batteries and supercapacitors. Among the various types of graphene electrodes, 3D graphene structures have recently gained prominence due to high super capacitance, high surface area, and fast ion transport. However, a challenge to using graphene derived from inexpensive graphite is the exfoliation. This is due to graphene’s insolubility in aqueous or organic solvents. In this work we describe using this insolubility to our advantage. Placing graphite at an oil/water interface results in the spontaneous exfoliation of the graphite and spreading of the graphene sheets. This spreading lowers the free energy of the system as graphene acts as a surfactant. When the oil is a monomer we are able make solid polymer/graphene composites that are porous and conductive in nature. Here we show the synthesis of these 3D polymer/graphene composites and their use as supercapacitors.

Self-assembled graphene composites as porous electrodes for energy storage

255th National Meeting (2018)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.