Graphite Oxide as a Robust and Efficient Template for Co₃O₄-Based High Power Battery-Type Electrodes

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

<P>Here, we introduce graphite oxide (GTO) as an efficient alternative nano-template to graphene oxide (GO) in the hybridization of Co3O4 nanoparticles for high power charge-storage applications. Co3O4/GTO composites (CGTO) were synthesized via a simple hydrothermal route and thermally reduced to produce a composite with a compact microstructure (rCGTO). When compared with a thermally reduced Co3O4/GO composite (rCGO), Co3O4 nanoparticles in rCGTO showed a greatly improved discharge capacity of 326 C.g(-1) vs 166 C.g(-1) at 0.5 A.g(-1). The difference in capacity between rCGTO and rCGO became even more conspicuous as the charge/discharge (C/D) rates were increased (272 vs 82 C.g(-1) at 10 A.g(-1)),which indicated the excellent rate capability of rCGTO. The effectiveness of GTO over GO also led to a significant improvement in cyclability during extended C/D cycles. Ca. 84% of the initial discharge capacity was retained in rCGTO after 8,000 cycles, compared with 26% retention in rCGO. The superior electrochemical performance of rCGTO (greater capacity, high rate capability, and excellent cyclability) was ascribed to the pre-aligned nature of GTO, which allows Co3O4 nanoparticles to be homogeneously sandwiched within compact graphene stacks and to remain intact during repeated C/D cycling. (C) 2016 The Electrochemical Society. All rights reserved.</P>