Chemically synthesized rGO/SiC nanocomposites and their electrochemical performance for supercapacitor electrode

Reduced graphene oxide/silicon carbide (rGO/SiC) nanocomposites (NCs) were synthesized using a simple chemical method varying the contents of SiC from 1 to 9 wt%. in rGO/SiC NCs. The presence of rGO and SiC planes at 24 degrees and 34.2 degrees, 43.3 degrees, and 71.8 respectively in the XRD spectra indicates the successful formation of rGO/SiC NCs. The vibrational bonding related to Si-C and Si-O-Si at 883 and 1051 cm-1 respectively were present in the FTIR spectra of all the NCs supporting the XRD results. The optical band gap varied from 1.53 to 2.11 eV and the formation of rGO and SiC bonding were confirmed from the XPS analysis. The non-linear electrical behavior enhances the mobility and provides a specific capacitance of 442.3-527.3 F/g at a 5 mV/s scan rate and 280.8-997.5 F/g at 2 A/g from cyclic voltammetry (CV) and Galvanostatic Charge-Discharge curves (GCD) respectively with increasing SiC from 1 to 9 wt%. The kinetics of current-generating mechanisms from capacitive effects and diffusive behavior were also quantified suggesting the hybrid nature of the rGO/SiC electrode material. Thus, rGO/SiC NCs are promising electrode materials for next-generation super capacitor devices for addressing energy challenges.