Interaction of Co3O4 Nanocube with Graphene and Reduced Graphene Oxide: Adhesion and Quantum Capacitance

Abstract

The composites on the base of Co3O4 and graphene are in demand in the field of portable, flexible energy storage devices due to their small size, lightweight, big specific capacitance, good cycle stability and appropriate capacitance retention. The synthesis of this material always starts from the treatment of graphene oxide, so as a result, experimenters receive Co3O4 nanocubes incorporated into reduced graphene oxide indicates the presence of different oxygen-containing groups in the compound. This fact may limit the advantages of the considered material. Our theoretical quantum chemical calculations show that the process of Co3O4 incorporation between reduced graphene oxide layers is more energetically favorable in comparison to pure graphene. However, the win in the quantum capacitance in the case of pure graphene is in the range of 300–500 F/g in dependence on the applied voltage. The obtained result may indicate the need for modification of the current methods of graphene/Co3O4 synthesis to improve its application in supercapacitors and lithium-ion batteries.