One-pot synthesis and electrochemical properties of nitrogen-doped graphene decorated with M(OH)x (M = FeO, Ni, Co) nanoparticles

Abstract To improve the electrochemical properties of chemically synthesized graphene hybrids, nitrogen-doped (N-doped) graphene decorated with M(OH) x (M = FeO, Ni, Co) nanoparticles were fabricated by a one-pot method at a mild temperature (95 °C). Urea plays an important role in the synthesis process; it not only acts as the reducing agent and doping agent for N-doped graphene, but also as a hydroxyl donor for the fabrication of metal hydroxides and oxide-hydroxide. With the help of N-doped graphene and urea, FeOOH nanorods, Co(OH) 2 nanowires and flower-like Ni(OH) 2 nanoparticles were grown on the graphene sheets. The N-doped graphene hybrids exhibited the significantly improved electrochemical performances compared to the undoped equivalents or the separate components.