Sulfur-doped graphene aerogels reinforced with carbon fibers as electrode materials

In this work, the development of a novel sulfur-doped graphene aerogel composite reinforced with carbon fibers (CFs) is presented. Sulfur is entrapped between the graphene nanosheets when GO in the presence of sodium sulfide is reduced hydrothermally to rGO forming a stable hydrogel and an aerogel after freeze-drying. The simultaneous incorporation of CFs improves the mechanical stability of the final composite. The as-prepared composite combines the characteristics of graphene aerogels such as porosity, surface area, chemical inertness with the mechanical properties of CFs and the ability of sulfur to capture lithium, thus providing a material with promising electrochemical properties for lithium-ion battery applications.