Influence of carbon black on electrochemical performance of graphene-based electrode for supercapacitor

In this work, graphene was prepared by modified Hummers method and prepared graphene was applied to electrode materials for supercapacitor. In addition, to enhance the electrochemical performance of graphene, carbon black was deposited onto graphene via chemical reduction. The effect of the carbon black content incorporated on the electrochemical properties of the graphene-based electrodes was investigated. It was found that nano-scaled carbon black aggregates were deposited and dispersed onto the graphene by the chemical reduction of acid treated carbon black and graphite oxide. From the cyclic voltammograms, carbon black-deposited graphene (CB-GR) showed improved electrochemical performance, i.e., current density, quicker response, and better specific capacitance than that of pristine graphene. This indicates that the carbon black deposited onto graphene served as an conductive materials between graphene layers, leading to reducing the contact resistance of graphene and resulted in the increase of the charge transfer between graphene layers by bridge effect.