Materials Research Bulletin, Vol.46, No.8, 1301-1306, 2011
Influence of multi-walled carbon nanotubes on electrochemical performance of transparent graphene electrodes
In this work, carbon-carbon nanocomposites as transparent electrodes were prepared by a chemical reduction of graphite oxide (GO) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs). The electric, optical, and electrochemical properties of graphene-MWNT nanocomposites (G-MCs) were investigated as a function of the MWNT content. It was found that chemically bonded G-MCs were successfully formed with a reduction of the functional groups of the GO and acid-treated MWNTs, resulting in the conjugation of 1D MWNTs onto a 20 graphene surface. The electrical conductivity of the graphene was significantly enhanced by introducing the MWNTs. In addition, the G-MCs showed improved current density and high efficiency compared with graphene alone. This indicated that the improved electrochemical performance of the G-MCs can be attributed to the increase in the activity and electrical conductivity enhanced by pi-pi interaction between graphene and MWNTs. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords:Nanostructures;Interfaces;Optical properties;Electrical properties;Electrochemical properties