Facile and rapid method to synthesis sulfur and nitrogen co-doped graphene quantum dots as an electrode material with excellent specific capacitance for supercapacitors application

The current invention pertains to the expeditious simple synthesis of electrode materials that improve the storage capacity of supercapacitors (SCs). Sulfur and nitrogen co-doped graphene quantum dots (SN-GQDs) are synthesized using a microwave-assisted hydrothermal (MAH) process at low pressure and with a short reaction time. The utilization of SN-GQDs in conjunction with Polyaniline (PANI) has the potential to enhance the supercapacitor's energy and power density, owing to their notable specific capacitance. Implementing SN-GQDs material as an SCs electrode, exhibiting an outstanding specific capacitance of 1040 F/g at an applied current density of 0.5 A g−1. Furthermore, a composite of SN-GQDs/PANI is synthesized and the electrochemical performance is compared with the as-synthesized PANI. The symmetrical SCs are fabricated using SN-GQDs/PANI composite, and PANI. At a current density of 0.5 A g−1 SN-GQDs/PANI composite-based SC displays a superior energy density of 44.25 Wh/kg at a power density of 1.227 kW/kg. This is high in comparison to PANI-based SC which shows an energy density of 18.71 Wh/kg at 0.8 kW/kg power density at the same current density. The SC created using SN-GQDs/PANI composite exhibits superior properties and is a promising material for SC applications. [Display omitted] •A cost-effective method is developed to synthesize around 10 nm size of SN-GQDs.•Synthesis of SN-GQDs requires low temperature, low pressure, and a very short time.•Cs of electrode prepared from SN-GQDs shows 1040 F/g at 0.5 A g−1.•SN-GQDs/PANI raised SCs energy density 94 % over PANI.