Graphene Nanoplatelet-Supported V2O5 Hybrid Composites for Supercapacitor Application

Developing hybrid electrode materials with different working mechanisms for energy storage applications is crucial to mitigate the worse climate changes. Electrode materials derived from V2O5 have gained significant research attention due to highlighted features of high specific capacitance (higher faradaic activity) and stable crystal structure. This study presents cost-effective and facile ex situ fabrication of graphene nanoplatelet (GNP)-supported vanadium oxide (V2O5) nanoparticles with much improved electrochemical performance as electrode materials in supercapacitor applications. When tested as electrode materials in supercapacitor applications, the composite (V2O5)(0.50)(GNPs)(0.50) has superior specific capacitance (990 F g(-1)) calculated from cyclic coltammetry (CV) at 5 mV s(-1) and 800 F g(-1) at 2 A g(-1) calculated from galvanostatic charging/discharging (GCD) compared to other composites and its constituent's partners in aqueous alkaline electrolyte (2 M NaOH). The hybrid composites deliver an excellent energy density of 27.7 Wh Kg(-1) at a power density of 1800 W Kg(-1). Moreover, the resultant hybrid composite demonstrates better electrochemical kinetics and enhanced cyclic performance with maximum capacity retention of 95% after 2000 continuous charge-discharge cycles studied at a higher current rate of 10 Ag-1. The superior electrochemical results demonstrate that the integration of V2O5 on GNPs can be an effective strategy for developing high-performance electrodes for future energy storage applications.