The spectrum clearly showed the presence of carbon (C), zinc (Zn), and oxygen (O) elements in the graphene-ZnO hybrid nanostructure. The Zn and O elements selleck originated from the ZnO nanorods, and the C was contributed by the Gr nanosheets. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) of Sn-Gr composite was performed to find out metal oxide content in the sample. Figure 3c shows the TGA profiles of GO and graphene-ZnO hybrid nanostructure this website measured in air conditions. After the product had been
calcined at 900°C in air, the residue of GO is approximately 5 wt.%, while the graphene-ZnO hybrid sample is approximately 38.5 wt.%. Therefore, the ZnO content in the graphene-ZnO sample was determined to be about 33.5 wt.%. In addition, the lower thermal stability of the graphene-ZnO compared to the pristine GO may be due to the catalytic decomposition of ZnO since
carbon has been reported to catalytically decompose oxides. To further SB-715992 confirm the formation of the samples, Raman detection was performed. Figure 3d shows the Raman spectra of graphene-ZnO hybrid nanostructure. A very intense Raman band can be seen at 1,354 and 1,596 cm−1, which corresponded to the well-documented D and G bands, respectively. The D band is a common feature for sp 3 defects or disorder in carbon, and the G band provides useful information on in-plane vibrations of sp 2-bonded carbon atoms in a 2D hexagonal lattice. The 2D band appeared in the sample, indicating the conversion of GO into Gr sheets. Further observation showed that three vibrational peaks at 323, 437, and 487 cm−1 were also observed (inset in Figure 3d), which correspond to the to the optical phonon E 2 mode of wurtzite hexagonal phase of ZnO. Figure 3 Characterization of ZnO, graphene-ZnO, graphene-ZnO hybrid nanostructures. (a) Tobramycin XRD patterns of ZnO and graphene-ZnO. (b) EDS image of the graphene-ZnO hybrid nanostructure. (c) TGA curves of GO and graphene-ZnO sample,
heating rate 10°C min−1. (d) Raman spectra of graphene-ZnO hybrid nanostructure. To study the electrochemical performance of the graphene-ZnO hybrid nanostructure, electrochemical measurements were conducted in a three-electrode electrochemical cell with a Pt wire as counter electrode and a SCE as reference electrode in 0.5 M Na2SO4 solution. In order to illustrate the advantage of the graphene-ZnO hybrid nanostructure, Figure 4a compares the cyclic voltammetry (CV) curves of pristine Gr sheets, ZnO nanorods, and graphene-ZnO hybrid nanostructure at 5 mV s−1. It can be seen that all these curves exhibit nearly rectangular shape, indicating ideal supercapacitive behavior. In comparison to the ZnO nanorods and pristine Gr electrodes, the graphene-ZnO hybrid nanostructure electrode showed a higher integrated area, which reveals the superior electrochemical performance of the graphene-ZnO hybrid electrode.