Facile hydrothermal preparation of niobium pentaoxide decorated reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites for supercapacitor applications

Facile synthesis of graphene-Nb2O5 composite has been reported. Graphene oxide was prepared by the modified Hummer's method. The metal oxide (Nb2O5) was introduced to the graphene to form the composite by the hydrothermal method. The prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, high resolution transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and thermo gravimetric analysis (TGA). SEM and TEM results revealed that the metal oxide particles are uniformly dispersed on the surface of thin sheets of well-defined multilayered graphene structure. Thermal stability of the graphene metal oxide nanocomposites was also investigated. The CV measurements reveal a significant enhancement in the specific capacitance reaching 321 Fg(-1) at a scan rate of 10 mV s(-1). With promising electrochemical characteristics, Nb2O5 decorated graphene nanocomposite are explored as potential electrode material for supercapacitor applications. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.