Electrosprayed graphene decorated with ZnO nanoparticles for supercapacitors

A binder-free nanocomposite consisting of ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) grown directly on graphene sheets by electrospraying was fabricated for use as an electrode material in supercapacitors. The optimal concentrations of graphene and ZnO NPs were determined from the capacitive characteristics of the composite. Scanning electron microscopy confirmed that the ZnO NPs grew in a uniformly distributed manner on the graphene sheets and that they exhibited negligible agglomeration. Further, X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed that ZnO growth was preferentially oriented along (100) plane in the ZnO/graphene composite. A symmetric supercapacitor fabricated using this composite exhibited an energy density of 67 mWh·cm⁻³ and power density of 6000 mW·cm⁻³. The composite also showed good long-term cycling performance, retaining 90% of its capacitance after 1000 galvanostatic charge/discharge cycles.