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Ternary Self-Assembly of Ordered Metal Oxide-Graphene Nanocomposites for Electrochemical Energy Storage

Journal Article · · ACS Nano, 4(3):1587–1595
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/nn901819n· OSTI ID:979491
Surfactant or polymer directed self-assembly has been widely investigated to prepare nanostructured metal oxides, semiconductors and polymers, but this approach is mostly limited to two-phase materials, organic/inorganic hybrids, and nanoparticle or polymer-based nanocomposites. Self-assembled nanostructures from more complex, multiscale and multiphase building blocks have been explored with limited success. Here, we demonstrate a ternary self-assembly approach using graphene as fundamental building blocks to construct metal oxide-graphene nanocomposites. A new class of layered nanocomposites is formed containing stable, ordered alternating layers of nanocrystalline metal oxides with graphene/graphene stacks. Alternatively, the graphene material can be incorporated into liquid-crystal-templated nanoporous structures to form high surface area, conductive networks. The self-assembly method can be also used to fabricate free standing, flexible metal oxide-graphene nanocomposite films and electrodes. We investigate the Li-ion insertion properties of the self-assembled electrodes for energy storage and show that the SnO2-graphene nanocomposite films can achieve near theoretical specific energy density without a significant charge/discharge degradation.
Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (US)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
979491
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-70609; KC0203020
Journal Information:
ACS Nano, 4(3):1587–1595, Journal Name: ACS Nano, 4(3):1587–1595 Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 4
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English