Direct preparation and processing of graphene/RuO2 nanocomposite electrodes for high-performance capacitive energy storage

Carbon materials are widely used in supercapacitors because of their high surface area, controlled porosity and ease of processing into electrodes. The combination of carbon with metal oxides results in hybrid electrodes with higher specific capacitance than pure carbon electrodes, which has so far limited the energy density of supercapacitors currently available commercially. However, the preparation and processing of carbon/metal oxide electrodes into supercapacitors of different structures and configurations, especially for miniaturized electronics, has been challenging. Here, we demonstrate a simple one-step process for the synthesis and processing of laser-scribed graphene/RuO2 nanocomposites into electrodes that exhibit ultrahigh energy and power densities. Hydrous RuO2 nanoparticles were successfully anchored to graphene surfaces through a redox reaction of the precursors, graphene oxide, and RuCl3 using a consumer grade LightScribe DVD burner with a 788nm laser. This binder-free, metal current collector-free graphene/RuO2 film was then used directly as a hybrid electrochemical capacitor electrode, demonstrating much-improved cycling stability and rate-capability with a specific capacitance up to 1139Fg−1. We employed these hybrid electrodes for building aqueous-based symmetric and asymmetric cells that can deliver energy densities up to 55.3Whkg−1, placing them among the best performing hybrid electrochemical capacitors. Furthermore, this technique was used for the direct writing of interdigitated hybrid micro-supercapacitors in a single step for the first time, with great potential for miniaturized electronics. This simple approach provides a general strategy for making a wide range of composite materials for a variety of applications.