One-pot synthesis of amine-functionalized graphene oxide by microwave-assisted reactions: an outstanding alternative for supporting materials in supercapacitors

Abstract

A simple and straightforward method using microwave-assisted reactions is presented for the functionalization of graphene oxide with aromatic and non-aromatic amines, notedly dibenzylamine (DBA), <i>p</i>-phenylenediamine (PPD), diisopropylamine (DPA) and piperidine (PA). The as-synthesized amine-functionalized graphene oxide materials (amine-GO) were characterized using spectroscopic techniques including XRD, FTIR, ¹³C NMR, XPS, TEM for imaging and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The characterization confirmed the functionalization for all amines, reaching relatively high surface nitrogen atomic concentrations of up to 8.8%. The investigations of electrochemical behavior for the amine-GOs show the significant improvement in GO's electrochemical properties through amine functionalization, exhibiting long life cycle stability and reaching specific capacitance values of up to 290 F g^-1 and 260 F g^-1 for GO-PA and GO-DPA samples, respectively, confirming their potential application as alternative supporting materials in supercapacitors.