Graphene-Based Nanocomposites For Energy Storage

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Graphene-Based Nanocomposites for Energy Storage
Review
Liwen Ji,* Praveen Meduri, Victor Agubra, Xingcheng Xiao, and Mataz Alcoutlabi*
energy storage devices.[2,4,5,7–16] Superca-

Since the first report of using micromechanical cleavage method to produce pacitors, high-performance rechargeable
graphene sheets in 2004, graphene/graphene-based nanocomposites have lithium (Li) batteries (including Li-ion,
attracted wide attention both for fundamental aspects as well as applications Li–S, and Li–air chemistries), sodium
(Na) batteries (Na-ion, Na–S, and Na–air
in advanced energy storage and conversion systems. In comparison to other
batteries), zinc (Zn)–air batteries, and
materials, graphene-based nanostructured materials have unique 2D struc- vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs),
ture, high electronic mobility, exceptional electronic and thermal conductivi- are the most promising energy storage
ties, excellent optical transmittance, good mechanical strength, and ultrahigh systems on account of their high specific
surface area. Therefore, they are considered as attractive materials for energy, energy and/or power density, long
cycle life, excellent rate performance, and
hydrogen (H2) storage and high-performance electrochemical energy storage
design flexibilities.[2,4,5,7–18] Hydrogen
devices, such as supercapacitors, rechargeable lithium (Li)-ion batteries, Li– (H2) storage is another promising energy
sulfur batteries, Li–air batteries, sodium (Na)-ion batteries, Na–air batteries, system that is considered as a critical area
zinc (Zn)–air batteries, and vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFB), etc., as for its potential applications in sustainable
they can improve the efficiency, capacity, gravimetric energy/power densities, energy without producing harmful byprod-
and cycle life of these energy storage devices. In this article, recent progress ucts.[19,20] Increased attention to the design
and synthesis of nanostructured electrode
reported on the synthesis and fabrication of graphene nanocomposite mate-
materials in recent years has proven to be
rials for applications in these aforementioned various energy storage systems critical for the tremendous advancements
is reviewed. Importantly, the prospects and future challenges in both scalable in energy storage technologies.[21–24] Par-
manufacturing and more energy storage-related applications are discussed. ticularly, graphene and graphene-based
nanocomposites have received great atten-
tion and have been extensively investi-
1. Introduction gated as electrode materials for these various energy storage
systems.[22–40]
The ever rising world population has led to increasing energy
demand with the worldwide power consumption expected to
double in the next several decades. Hence, it is imperative for 1.1. What is Graphene?
scientists and researchers to develop sustainable, clean, and
renewable energy technologies that are economical and envi- Graphene is a new class of 2D “aromatic” monolayer of carbon
ronmentally benign to address the growing energy demands atoms densely packed in a honeycomb crystal lattice. Gra-
and challenges in our society.[1–6] The most common renewable phene has attracted tremendous attention since its discovery
energy sources such as the sun and wind are highly intermittent in 2004,[41] as a promising material for next-generation energy
and thus, require to be coupled with viable high-performance storage devices owing to its superior properties.[22,25,42,43] Gra-
phene offers a unique twofold advantage with remarkably
high electron mobility at room temperature and fast hetero-
Dr. L. Ji, Dr. X. Xiao
General Motors Global Research & Development Center
geneous electron transfer at the edges, with reported values in
Chemical and Materials Systems Laboratory excess of 15 000 cm2 V−1 s−1.[44,45] In addition, graphene has an
Warren, MI 48092, USA ultrahigh surface area of ≈2630 m2 g−1, which is significantly
E-mail: [email protected] higher than its –1D (i.e., carbon nanotube, 1315 m2g−1) and 3D
Prof. P. Meduri (graphite, 10 m2 g−1) counterparts.[42] Furthermore, graphene
Department of Chemical Engineering exhibits a high tensile strength with excellent flexibility, which
Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad
ODF Estates is quite beneficial for building flexible devices.[46] Graphene
Yeddumailaram, Medak, Telangana 502205, India also has outstanding optical transparency and transmittance,
Dr. V. Agubra, Prof. M. Alcoutlabi which leads to unexpectedly high opacity for an atomic mon-
Department of Mechanical Engineering olayer,[47] and an intriguing thermal conductivity of 4.84 × 103
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley to 5.30 × 103 W m−1 K−1 at room temperature.[48]
Edinburg, TX 78539, USA
E-mail: [email protected]
Several physical and chemical methods can be used to syn-
thesize graphene including micromechanical cleavage (original
DOI: 10.1002/aenm.201502159 scotch-tape method), chemical vapor deposition, liquid phase
Adv. Energy Mater. 2016, 1502159 © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim wileyonlinelibrary.com (1 of 73) 1502159
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exfoliation, thermal decomposition of silicon carbide (SiC),

Review
reduction of graphene oxide (GO), and un-zipping carbon Liwen Ji is currently a Research
nanotubes (CNTs).[49] The structure of graphene can be modi- Scientist II in the Energy &
fied using various techniques to tune their properties and Power Group at Lynntech, Inc.
performance.[50] These methods include: (i) Direct assembly Prior to that, he was a Contract
of graphene sheets into porous electrode materials; (ii) depo- Research Scientist at General
sition and coating of metal, metal oxides, or other electro- Motors’ Global Research &
chemically active materials on graphene sheets; (iii) surface Development Center, and a
modification of graphene sheets with surfactant molecules; Postdoctoral Fellow in the US
and (iv) self-assembly of ordered nanocomposites (Figure 1).[24] Department of Energy (DOE)’s
However, these modifications often present new challenges. Pacific Northwest National
For instance, the prevention of re-stacking is a key challenge Laboratory and the Lawrence
in the direct assembly of graphene using a homogeneous dis- Berkeley National Laboratory.
persion that requires a proper balance between solvation and He received his Ph.D. in Fiber and Polymer Science from
hydration forces of the solvent. The use of surfactants provides North Carolina State University in 2009. His research
precise control of graphene dispersion, leading to the forma- focuses on fabrication of novel nanostructures for advanced
tion of new hybrid architectures through self-assembly. In the energy storage and conversion systems, such as recharge-
case of metal oxide deposition, it is important to control the able batteries, supercapacitors, fuel cells, solar cells and solar
surface defects and functional groups because they can serve water splitting cells.
as nucleation sites for crystal growth and dictate the deposition
thickness. Praveen Meduri is presently
Although these physical techniques used to synthesize an Assistant Professor of
graphene-based materials show promise for fundamental Chemical Engineering at
research on material properties and application testing, their Indian Institute of Technology,
applications in practical electronic and energy storage devices Hyderabad focusing on
require the production of large quantities that demand fur- materials for advanced energy
ther exploratory work. In this context, chemical methods storage systems. He was an
including the reduction of graphene oxide (GO), electro- independent researcher with
chemical methods to treat graphite, non-covalent/covalent the prestigiuos PSIEE fellow-
functionalization and solvothermal reactions of sodium ship at Pennsylvania State
and ethanol have been developed.[51–54] In addition, physical Unversity. He also worked as
processes such as exfoliation/re-intercalation/expansion a post-doctoral researcher at
of graphite have been developed to produce graphene with the US Department of Energy (DOE)’s Pacific Northwest
fairly good conductivity and reasonable yield for mass pro- National Laboratory. He received his Ph.D. from the
duction.[55] The as-synthesized graphenes can potentially be Department of Chemical Engineering at The University of
combined with other organic/inorganic materials to develop Louisville in 2010 working on nanomaterials for Li-ion bat-
novel graphene nanocomposites, which include graphene/ teries. He received his M.S. in Chemical Engineering from
polymers,[56–61] graphene/metals,[62,63] graphene/metal The University of Akron in 2005.
oxides,[64–68] and graphene/CNTs,[69–71] for energy storage
devices (Figure 1). Several techniques in the following dis- Mataz Alcoutlabi currently is a
cussion show promise for the large-scale production of RGV STARs Faculty-Assistant
graphene-based nanocomposites, which spark interest for Professor in the Mechanical
fundamental investigation of graphene-based nanostruc- Engineering Department
tured materials in energy-related applications.[22–40] Our main at The University of Texas
thrust in this article is to review the field of energy storage Rio Grande Valley. Mataz
systems and specifically discuss recent development on received his B. S. degree in
the use of graphene-based nanocomposites in these energy Mechanical Engineering from
storage systems as well as various ways to improve the per- the University of Aleppo,
formance of these devices. Syria and M.S. degree in
This review is organized as follows, we first discuss recent Mechanical Engineering
results reported in the literature on the application of graphene- from INSA, Toulouse, France.
based nanocomposites in H2 storage, supercapacitors, Li-ion He obtained his Ph.D. degree in Materials Science and
batteries, Li–S battery, Li–air battery, Na–ion batteries, Na–air Engineering from INSA, Lyon, France. He then worked as
batteries, Zn–air batteries, and VRFBs. We then discuss recent a post-doctoral researcher at Laval University, Quebec city,
development efforts for the commercialization of graphene- Canada and at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, Texas.
based nanopcomposites in these energy storage systems. Mataz’s research focuses on the design of nanomaterials
Finally, we discuss the challenges and issues facing this field with desirable properties for biomedical applications and
followed by summary, conclusions as well as suggestions and energy storage systems.
perspectives for future research.
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Review
Figure 1. A typical synthetic pathways for producing GO, rGO, GO-, and rGO-based nanocomposites for use as electronic active materials for energy
storage devices. Reproduced with permission.[24] Copyright 2015, Nature Publishing Group.
2. H2 Storage
addressed, which include enhancing the rate of H2 release and
The abundance and environmental benignity of H2 makes it the discovery of cheaper chemical processing pathways required
an effective and efficient energy storage solution often termed to put the H2 back on the top of dehydrogenated materials.[81]
as ’’H2 economy.’’[19,20] However, it should be remembered Metal borohydrides are another class of materials that can be
that H2 is not an energy source, but rather a secondary energy used for H2 storage.[82] However, the major challenges facing
carrier.[19,20] The gravimetric energy density of H2 is three times these categories of materials are the high temperature of dehy-
higher than that of gasoline, making it vital to understand, drogenation, lack of reversibility of the dehydrogenation reaction,
design, and execute for storage.[19,20] In light of this, selecting slow kinetics of dehydrogenation and hydrogenation, evolution of
suitable materials for efficient H2 storage assumes a primary diborane during dehydrogenation, and high cost of borohydrides.[82]
importance. In addition to material dependence, the adsorption A survey and discussion of the literature reported on H2
of H2 also changes with both micropore volume and surface storage systems show that compared to metal hydrides and
area of the material.[72–74] other reported materials, graphene-based materials have some
The storage of H2 has been realized in several solid systems unique advantages which make them good candidates for H2
including transition metal and light metal hydrides, which storage.[75,83–85] The chemical versatility of carbon allows its
display a volumetric density between 0.08 and 0.15 kg m−3.[75] switching from sp2 to sp3 hybridization and efficiently binding
Recently, several H2 storage studies have focused on MgH2, with H2 atoms. In addition, the stability and robustness of gra-
because of its relatively low cost and high weight storage phene make it easy to transport for long distances. At the same
capacity (7.6 wt%).[76] The MgH2 power with the incorpora- time, it is mechanically flexible, thus enabling new charging/
tion of 10 wt% of expanded natural graphite has been shown discharging strategies under room conditions that exploit the
to enhance the thermal exchanges and improve the H2 storage dependence of H2-carbon binding on a local curvature. The
time.[77] Mg nanocrystals are another class of material with flexibility of graphene and the unique electronic properties put
excellent H2 storage ability, high volumetric storage capacity it in a position where new design approaches for H2 storage
(i.e., 55 g L−1) and rapid uptake (<30 min at 200 °C) greater could be developed.[75,86] Mathematical models the adsorption
than that of compressed H2 gas.[78] In addition, NaAlH4 has of H2 on graphene and graphene oxides (GOs) have been used
also been extensively explored as one promising solid-state H2 to demonstrate enhanced performance that are approaching
storage material,[19] in particular, when doping with atoms such recommended DOE targets for H2 storage. These mathematical
as Ti, Sc, Ce, and Pr (these cations can enhance the kinetic models have been used to predict higher H2 storage capacities
characteristics).[79] The main drawbacks of these systems are for graphene-based nanocomposites (decorated with transition
their relatively high weight and high activation barriers for both metal clusters or alkali/alkaline earth metals).
adsorption and desorption processes. In addition, it is a major Graphene can be an ideal material for H2 storage since it is
challenge to simultaneously meet gravimetric, volumetric, ther- lightweight, low cost, robust, chemically stable, highly porous
modynamic and kinetic requirements for these transition metal and has high surface area to volume ratio.[75,87–92] Herein, we
hydrides, due to their strong binding energies for the metal consider multilayers graphene, porous graphene, graphene-
hydride bonds, long diffusion path lengths, and oxidative insta- based 3D assemblies, and graphene nanocomposites because
bility of zero-valent metals.[19,80] it is difficult to evaluate the H2 storage potential for a single
Amineborane-based materials (NH3BH3) have received a graphene layer.
significant interest for H2 storage given its stability and com- H2 can be stored in graphene-based materials in two ways:
mercial availability.[81] There are still technical challenges to be (i) physisorption through van der Waals (VdW) forces; and
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Review
Figure 2. H2 storage in graphene and graphene-based nanocomposites with bands showing gravimetric density and binding stability of different
graphene and graphene-based nanocomposites and for physisorption or chemisorption mechanisms, with uptake/release controlled thermally and
mechanically, respectively. Reproduced with permission.[83] Copyright 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.
(ii) chemisorption via forming a chemical bond with the C or showed that the adsorption of H2 on Li-decorated porous gra-
other functional groups on graphene-based nanocomposite sur- phene was as high as 12 wt%.[95] In comparison to Li-doped
faces.[75,85,86] H2 inherently undergoes a reversible weak phys- graphene, Li doping in porous graphene is expected to lower
isorption on pure graphene sheets, which has been observed by electrostatic interactions, leading to enhanced adsorption of
using extensive experimental and theoretical work (Figure 2).[83] H2. The porous architecture itself can also lead to additional
This results in a low capacity retention that is well below the H2 storage.[95,97,104,105]
required capacity for practical applications as outlined by the Figure 3 illustrates a brief overview on the various possibili-
department of energy (DOE).[93] ties of H2 interaction with Li-decorated graphene.[95] In addi-
Recent results reported in the literature show that H2 tion to Li, theoretical simulations and/or experimental evi-
uptake can be enhanced by using novel graphene nanostruc- dences showed that Al,[106,107] B,[108] Ni,[109] Ni–B alloy,[110] Fe,[111]
tures with engineered nanospaces,[94–97] surface modification Ca,[101,112–114] Pd,[115] Ti,[116,117] Co,[118] Na,[119] and Mg,[120] doped
of functionalized graphene,[93,98,99] and heteroatom-doping of graphene can also exhibit excellent H2 storage capabilities. The
graphene for H2 polarization.[100,101] Using KOH activation favorable H2 binding to these transition metals is attributed
procedure, Talyzin et al. fabricated highly porous graphene to Kubas-type interactions between the metal and H2, which
scaffold materials with surface area up to 3400 m2 g−1 and are stronger than static coulombic interactions among metal
a pore volume up to 2.2 cm3 g−1 for H2 storage. The max- atoms.[113] Transition metals also tend to form clusters due to
imal excess H2 uptake of 7.5 wt% could be obtained at 77 K the high cohesive energy and thus, lowering the H2 storage
after additional activation by H2 annealing with a H2 storage capability. The coupling of graphene with pure transition
value as high as 4 wt% observed at 193 K (120 bar H2).[96] metals can hinder these cohesive forces, prevent their agglom-
Ab initio and density functional theory (DFT) calculations eration and lead to enhanced H2 storage.[121] A key challenge
showed that an artificial 3D pillared graphene with an inter- in H2 storage is the chemisorb/desorb H2 at room temperature
layer spacing of 1.2 nm stabilized by perpendicularly inserted without having to use high temperatures and pressures. Par-
CNTs can lead to tunable pore sizes and high surface areas. ticularly, the desorption of atomic H2 is associated with high
Further doping with Li cations can store ≈41 g H2 L−1 under energy barriers, which requires a thorough understanding of
ambient conditions which is close to DOE’s target.[102] Simi- these systems. The use of catalytic transition metals can lead
larly, Li-doped pillared GO with a gravimetric H2 capacity of to the reduction of these energy barriers for better desorption.
>10 wt% and a volumetric H2 capacity of 55 g L−1 at 77 K and Using first-principles calculations, Wang et al. investigated
100 bar, which also meets DOE’s targets.[103] However, high Ti anchoring on GO that consists of sp2 C with one O and
Li coverage on graphene might possibly lead to strong elec- two OH groups as basic building blocks.[116] The calculated
trostatic interactions between Li cations, which can weaken Ti-O binding energies were as high as 450 kJ mol−1, strong
the H2 adsorption ability. Recently, theoretical modeling enough to prevent the clustering but still low enough to adsorb
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Figure 3. Illustration of a theoretical study of Li-decorated porous graphene and their potential applications for H2 storage: a) Optimized geometry.
b,c) Band structure based on the local density approximation. d) Adsorption energies and optimized geometries for the first, second, third, and
fourth H2 molecules around the Li atom on porous graphene. e,f) Charge density variations for Li-decorated porous graphene with one and three H2
molecules. g) Top view of optimized geometries for 6 and 12 H2 molecules adsorbed on two and four Li-decorated porous graphene. Green, white,
blue, and yellow balls represent C, H, Li, and physisorbed H2 molecules, respectively. Reproduced with permission.[95] Copyright 2010, American
Chemical Society.
H2. These GO–Ti nanocomposites were estimated to have theo- graphene, such as porous, hollow, multilayer graphene nano-
retical gravimetric and volumetric capacities of about 4.9 wt% structures, heteroatom-doped graphene structures, and dif-
and 64 g L−1, respectively. DFT calculations have shown that Al- ferent types of graphene-based composites with larger cavities
doped graphene has an uptake of 13.79 wt% H2 at temperature can be obtained, which are indispensable to the physisorption
of 300 K, surpassing DOE’s target.[107] In the same vein, first- or chemisorption of H2. As a result, graphene-based systems
principles study showed that Ca-decorated zigzag graphene are among the best nanomaterials for long-term H2 storage.[92]
nanoribbons can store ≈5 wt% H2.[101] Although these studies have shown good H2 storage capa-
The B-doping was found to form an electron-deficient struc- bilities, the main challenge here is the synthesis of well-ordered
ture that can help enhance the H2 interaction energy.[122,123] The structures on a large scale. Simulations do indicate the advan-
energy surface seems to extend over several graphene carbon tages of graphene but it has always been a challenge to synthe-
sites, making the surface more heterogeneous.[122,123] B-doping size the materials with the best properties and low defects.[130,131]
in graphene could also help enhance the Li and Ca bonding In addition, graphene-based nanocomposites for H2 storage still
strengths on the graphene. Lu and co-workers reported that Li- suffer from metal crystal oxidization and relatively low kinetics
and Ca-decorated B-doped porous graphene showed improved under ambient conditions.[75,120] The synthesis of graphene
H2 adsorptions of 6.4 and 6.8 wt%, respectively.[124] The Ca flakes with a variety of functionalization techniques and the
adsorption on zigzag edge, porous or covalent-bonded gra- fabrication of graphene nanocomposites and the development
phenes (CBGs) is also reported.[101,125] CBGs further doped of new techniques for possible bulk production of H2 storage
with B and decorated with Ca clusters show up to 6 wt% of H2 devices have been explored, yet there remain major challenges
adsorption.[114] The beryllium adsorbed on B-doped graphene for H2 storage.[75,120] Another key issue is how to store H2 in a
could have a high H2 uptake up to 15 wt%.[126] Recently, the H2 small space using minimum energy. Currently, H2 storage in
adsorption capacity of 2.4 wt% was also reported in Si-doped numerous graphene-based materials with a high energy density
graphene.[127] form has energetic barriers whose theoretical estimations range
The Sc decorated on either armchair of zigzag edges of in the order of several eV. Seeking suitable catalysts to desorb/
graphene nanoribbons show >9 wt% of H2 absorption.[128] Ni separate the molecular H2 from graphene is still a major chal-
atomic dispersion on graphene yields about 3 wt% of H2 but it lenge that needs further investigations before these materials
is expected to reduce experimentally due to clusterization and can be used in practical applications.[132]
nanoparticle formation.[109] In addition to graphene/pure metal
nanocomposites, graphene/metal sulfide, such as graphene/
Co9S8,[129] has been prepared for H2 storage. Compared with 3. Supercapacitors
the traditional metal decorated graphene, the graphene/Co9S8
nanocomposites show a much higher H2 storage capacity and Supercapacitors also known as ultracapacitors or electrochemical
better stability. capacitors offer a promising approach to meet the ever increasing
As mentioned above, graphene has high specific surface power demand.[133–137] Supercapacitors can be classified into
area, high surface-to-volume ratio and is lightweight with good three main groups: electrical double-layer capacitors (EDLC),
mechanical properties. In addition, fascinating architectures of pseudo-capacitors, and hybrid/asymmetric capacitors. In EDLC,
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the capacitance arises due to pure electrostatic charge accumula- discuss recent results reported on the performance of graphene
Review
tion at the electrode/electrolyte interface (non-Faradaic process and graphene-based composites in supercapacitors.
where charges are distributed by physical absorption) resulting in
a double layer (Figure 4).[83] In the case of pseudo-capacitors, fast
and reversible faradaic processes such as redox reactions take place 3.1. Graphene
due to the electro-active species that result in storing the charges
as shown in Figure 4.[83] In hybrid capacitors, a combination of Graphene and graphene-based nanocomposites have been
both non-Faradaic and Faradaic processes is present.[133–136,138,139] proposed as attractive and alternative nanostructured elec-
Carbon-based materials including carbon particles, carbon trode materials for supercapacitors owing to their excellent
nanotubes, carbon nanofibers, graphite, and graphene have chemical stability, and superior electrical and thermal con-
been used as electrodes for EDLCs owing to their excep- ductivities.[190,191,193–205] The large open pores in graphene and
tional properties, such as high surface area, porous struc- graphene composites facilitate the fast transport of hydrate
ture, chemical inertness, and good electrical conductivity that ions that can lead to high double-layer capacitance in different
promote a nanoscopic charge separation at the electrode/ electrolytes.[25,42,142,190,193,200,206–211] Ruoff et al. have shown
electrolyte interface.[43,135,140–144] In addition to carbon, both that the specific capacitance of graphene-based supercapaci-
conducting polymers[145–150] and transition metal oxides such tors can reach 135 F g−1 in aqueous KOH electrolyte, 117 F g−1
as manganese oxides (MnO, Mn2O3, Mn3O4, MnO2),[151–153] in aqueous H2SO4 electrolyte, 99 F g−1 in organic electrolytes
RuO2,[154,155] Fe3O4,[156–158] SnO2,[159–161] NiO,[162–164] Fe2O3,[165–167] and 75 F g−1 in ionic liquid (IL)-based electrolytes.[212,213] Gra-
TiO2,[168–170] MoO2,[171] MoO3,[172,173] CuO,[174,175] Co3O4,[176–179] phene synthesized using gas-based hydrazine reduction of GOs
NiCo2O4,[180–182] ZnO,[183–185] Bi2O3,[186] Nb2O5,[187–189] etc.,[190] has shown a maximum specific capacitance of 205 F g−1 and
have been used as electrode materials in pseudocapacitors due to a power density of 10 kW kg−1 at 28.5 Wh kg−1 energy density
their electrochemically active nature and the ability to carry out in an aqueous medium.[214] The highly active edge planes in
the Faradaic redox reaction.[191,192] The electron transfer between graphene can cause restacking in graphene leading to loss of
the electrodes and the electrolytes comes from the reversible surface access (low surface areas and tortuous paths) and lower
electrochemical doping–redoping with conductive polymers and capacitance. Several approaches have been explored to keep
fast Faradaic redox reactions in transition metal oxides, respec- the graphene sheets dispersed. One such example is to keep
tively. In addition, various graphene-based nanostructures have the electrode hydrated, this can greatly increase the specific
been synthesized as electrodes for supercapacitors due to their capacity, and more impressively, the cycle stability at a high cur-
special properties.[190,191,193–204] In the ensuing sections, we rent density of the supercapacitor (Figure 5).[215]
Figure 4. Schematic diagram showing charge storage in supercapacitors. a) Ion adsorption at the electrode surface (EDLC). b) Charge transfer near the
surface of the electrode (pseudo-capacitance). Reproduced with permission.[83] Copyright 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.
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The transformation of graphene from sheet architecture to when used as supercapacitor (EDLC) electrodes.[223–234] Zhang
Review
a crumbled ball has also shown high specific capacitance and et al. designed a cell using freestanding, flexible, ultrahigh sur-
better rate performance. This is attributed to the special crum- face area (3100 m2 g−1), conductive (≈500 S m−1), porous gra-
bled structure that prevents graphene aggregation and prefer- phene films as electrodes with a specific capacitance of 120 F g−1
entially aligns them in a beneficial way for electron/ion trans- at a current density of 10 A g−1 in a TEABF4/AN electrolyte.[225]
port.[216–218] The performance of graphene-based supercapaci- The idea of using freestanding porous graphene films is great.
tors can be further enhanced by:[208,219–222] (i) Design and syn- However, the high ordering with huge spacing between the
thesis of porous structured graphene; (ii) surface modification layers of graphene leads to low material tap density (density
of the graphene with heterogeneous atoms; and (iii) combining per unit volume). The low material loading per unit volume is a
graphene with electrically conductive polymers, transition major concern, which can lead to low volumetric density. Li and
metal oxides, transition metal nitrides (or sulfide), secondary co-workers used the process of capillary compression to form
nanostructured carbon phases or others to develop hybrid dense and porous graphene with high ion accessibility and low
architectures with controlled pore distributions, densities, and transport resistance.[235] Capacitors based on these chemically
optimized morphologies and microstructures. converted graphene electrodes yield a high volumetric capacity
The fabrication of graphene with porous structure and large of 59.9 Wh L−1 along with a power density of ≈75 kW L−1,
surface area is an effective strategy to further increase their additionally, a 95% capacity retention was seen after holding
electrochemical performance in supercapacitors, because the the device at 3.5 V for 300 h in a EMIMBF4-based IL electro-
torosity in porous graphene can lead to well-defined pathways lytes.[235] It is therefore imperative to think of graphene syn-
for efficient ionic and electronic transport, higher electrochemi- thesis with a dense 3D nanostructure, which can overcome the
cally accessible surface area to electrolyte, shorter ion diffusion problems associated with the low tap density. Recently, Huang
lengths, and efficient electrode access for electrolytes.[223–234] All and co-workers fabricated a 3D hierarchical porous graphene
of these can be beneficial for the capacitance improvements. In carbon-based supercapacitors that exhibited a high reversible
addition, these pore structures could show a high adaptability specific capacitance of about 300 F g−1 and ultrahigh specific
Figure 5. Structure of the self-stacked, solvated graphene (SSG) film and electrochemical characterization of the SSG film-based supercapacitors.
a) A digital image and the cross-section of the SSG film. b) XRD spectra of wet and freeze dried SSG films with large spacing between graphene
sheets. c) Gravimetric capacitances measured at various charge/discharge currents show high specific capacitance at high current density without
drying. d) Ragone plots of the SSG films-based supercapacitors showing improved power and energy density for un-dried SSG film. Reproduced with
permission.[215] Copyright 2011, Wiley.
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energy/energy density/specific power of 67 Wh kg−1, 54 Wh three times higher capacitance and 5–10 times higher energy
Review
L−1, and 60 kW kg−1, respectively.[229] density than those for electrodes prepared from undoped
A weakness of the porous graphene design for superca- graphene.[261]
pacitor is that the high porosity may lead to a high electrolyte The doping of heteroatoms in graphene can change the elec-
uptake that can lower the specific capacitance in a practical cell. tronic structure and density of state significantly, thus modi-
The tortuosity inside porous graphene can also lead to a high fying the quantum capacitance, leading to higher interfacial
irreversible capacity at the initial few charging/discharging capacitance values.[262]
cycles since the charge transport inside these channels slows Although the presence of functional groups on the surface
down. In addition, porous graphene structures still suffer from improved the capacities, the fabrication of these materials does
the stacking disadvantages.[229] require precise control and advanced synthesis techniques,
which can lead to high fabrication costs. This can also lead to
low loading because of the surface groups, hence limiting their
3.2. Graphene-Based Nanostructures practical applications. Moreover, controlling the density, order
and the type of functional groups on the graphene surface still
Graphene modified with functional groups containing oxygen remains a challenge.
(O),[236–240] nitrogen (N),[222,241–247] sulfur (S),[248–250] boron
(B),[251–254] silicon (Si)[255] have shown improved performance
when used as supercapacitor electrodes. For example, reduced 3.3. Graphene-Conducting Polymer Nanocomposites
graphene oxides (rGOs) showed a specific capacitance of
264 F g−1.[256] Graphene-based electrode made from electro- Hybrid structures of graphene and electrically conducting
chemically reduced GO displayed a capacitance of ≈165 F g−1 polymers such as polyaniline (PANi), polypyrrole (PPy),
and excellent durability of over 1000 cycles in an aqueous elec- poly(thiophene) (PTh), poly(hexylthiophene) (PHTh), and
trolyte.[257] Partially reduced GO has capacitances of 348 and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) are often employed
158 F g−1 in aqueous and IL electrolytes, respectively. The per- to further improve the performance of graphene-based elec-
formance improvement in modified graphene is due to syn- trodes for supercapacitors. Conductive polymers are promising
ergistic effects of the electrical double-layer capacitance and owing to their high energy storage capacity, good electrical
pseudocapacitance. Kaner et al. used a standard lightscribe conductivity, low cost, and environmental stability.[263] How-
DVD optical drive to synthesize rGO with high electrical con- ever, conductive polymers inherently have low mechanical
ductivity (1738 S m−1) and high surface area (1520 m2 g−1).[258] stability and break upon mechanical stress during cycling.
This particular study presents a simple approach for graphene Hence, efficient Faradaic charge-transfer mechanism across the
synthesis that is shown chronologically in Figure 6a–g.[258] electrode–electrolyte interface can significantly boost the charge
These materials could be directly used as electrodes without storage capacity of pseudocapacitors when graphene is com-
the need of additional binders, carbon black, and current col- bined with these conductive polymers.
lectors, which could help improve the energy density of the Graphene–PANi nanocomposites have been studied as
devices. Figure 6h clearly indicates similar stack resistances potential supercapacitor electrodes[264–267] and show clearly
using both aqueous and polymer electrolytes. Figure 6i shows improved electrochemical performance. Graphene–PANi
that the resulting device exhibited ≈97% capacitance retention nanocomposites, synthesized by in situ oxidation poly-
for over 10 000 cycles. The high mechanical flexibility is indi- merization of aniline in the presence of functionalized gra-
cated by 95% capacitance retention for over 1000 cycles even phene, show high specific capacitance of 863.6 F g−1 at 0.2 A
upon bending (Figure 6j). The excellent mechanical flexibility g−1 and excellent rate capability of 581.6 F g−1 at 5 A g−1.[266]
is ascribed to the interconnected network architecture of the Another reported graphene–PANi composite synthesized by
material along with the gel electrolyte. in situ polymerization showed a high specific capacitance of
N-doped sites at graphene basal planes can further enhance 1046 F g−1 when compared to the value of 115 F g−1 for pure
the electronic conductivity of the electrodes, leading to capaci- PANi.[268] Flexible graphene–PANi nanocomposites synthe-
tance improvement.[241] N-doped graphene exhibits outstanding sized by in situ polymerization–reduction/dedoping–redoping
specific capacitance of 151 F g−1 at 5 A g−1 in KOH aqueous elec- process could deliver a specific capacitance of 1126 F g−1 and
trolyte. Additionally, these N-doped graphene electrodes exhibit capacitance retention of 84% after 1000 cycles.[269] Xu et al.
superior rate capacity and excellent cycle performance of more introduced a facile method to construct hierarchical nano-
than 5000 cycles.[259] In a study by Jeong and co-workers, N-doped composites by combining 1D PANi nanowires with 2D GO
graphene-based ultracapacitors showed higher capacitance of nanosheets.[270] The specific capacitance of the nanocomposite
≈280 F g−1electrode, which was four times larger than that for pris- can be more than 550 F g−1 at 0.2 A g−1 current density along
tine graphene.[241] Another reported N-doped graphene containing with excellent cycle life.[270]
hollow spheres can even deliver a high capacitance of 381 F g−1 at The use of other hybrid materials, including flexible gra-
a current density of 1 A g−1, which was attributed to the syner- phene–PANi nanofibers,[271] graphene–PANi flakes,[272] PANi-
gistic effects of the hollow nanostructure and N-doping.[242] embedded holey graphene nanoribbons,[273] hierarchical gra-
Results reported by Han et al. showed that the high surface phene@PANi@graphene sandwich containing hollow struc-
area of B-doped graphene can lead to a high performance of tures,[274] 3D porous graphene/PANi,[275] freestanding hierar-
supercapacitor electrodes.[260] Peng et al. also demonstrated chical CNF/GO/PANi,[276] and PANi-grafted rGO,[277] has also
that electrodes made of B-doped porous graphene exhibited been considered as potential materials for supercapacitors.
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Review
Figure 6. A flow diagram showing the construction of laser-scribed graphene (LSG)-based electrochemical capacitors (LSG-EC) and their associated
electrochemical performance. a–d) Fabrication processes for the LSG-based electrodes for electrochemical capacitors on DVD media disc. e) The color
of GO changes from golden brown to black, while layer structure of GO changes from stacked sheets to well-exfoliated few-layered LSG film. f) Fabri-
cation of a symmetric EC using two identical LSG as electrodes. g) CV curve at a scan rate of 1000 mV s−1. h) Cyclic stability at a high current density
of 10 A g−1. I) Comparison the energy and power densities of LSG-EC with other energy storage systems. Reproduced with permission.[258] Copyright
2012, American Association for the Advancement of Science.
PPy is another conductive polymer used with graphene for Graphene–PTh nanocomposites[290,291] and graphene–PTh
supercapacitors. Polymerized PPy with graphene showed a high derivatives have also been reported as pseudocapacitor mate-
specific capacitance of 482 F g−1 at a current density of 0.5 A g−1 rials.[291–293] graphene–PEDOT and graphene–PHTh nanocom-
in 1 m H2SO4. Sulfonated graphene (SG) and PPy composite posites have showed specific capacitances of 800–1100 F g−1
films with ≈40 wt% of SG exhibited a specific capacitance of at a current density of 0.1 A g−1.[292] The composite films con-
285 F g−1 at a discharge rate of 0.5 A g−1.[278] Hierarchical gra- sisting of PEDOT and rGO exhibit better capacitive proper-
phene–PPy nanosheet nanocomposites delivered a capacitance ties than pure PEDOT and rGO with a good specific capaci-
of 318.6 F g−1 at a scan rate of 2 mV s−1 with 95% capacity reten- tance retention up to 90% of the initial value even after 2000
tion after 1000 cycles at a scan rate of 100 mV s−1.[279] Composite cycles.[294]
films consisting of PPy and GO were electrochemically syn- Although conductive polymers are attractive, their inher-
thesized and directly used as an electrode for supercapacitors ently low conductivity compared to metals can lead to slow
where the GO/PPy composite exhibited a high specific capaci- electron/ion diffusion characteristics and low rates of charge/
tance of 424 F g−1 in 1 m H2SO4-based electrolytes at a current discharge.
density of 1 A g−1.[280] The 3D framework of PPy wrapped on the The orientation of polymer chains in graphene/conduc-
graphene hydrogel nanocomposites displayed a high specific tive polymer nanocomposites can help improve the electron
capacitance of 375 F g−1 at a scan rate of 10 mV s−1 along with transport and enhance the charge/discharge rates in superca-
excellent capacitance retention for more than 4000 cycles.[281] pacitors. The other important advantage of using graphene/
Recently, a freestanding CNT/graphene/PPy was used as hybrid polymer nanocomposites in supercapacitors is to create a tor-
electrodes in supercapacitors, which exhibited a specific capaci- tuous path for ions in the graphene composite structure that
tance of 453 F g−1 with ultrahigh energy and power density of can lead to irreversible specific capacitance losses. However,
≈63 Wh kg−1 and ≈567 W kg−1, respectively, at a scan rate of the key limitation for conducting polymers in supercapacitors
5 mV s−1.[282] Other hybrid graphene–PPy nanostructures such is their low cycling stability that arises due to the structural
as nanowires,[283] nanotubes,[284] freestanding graphene/PPy breakdown of conducting polymers during the intercalation/
film,[285] 3D graphene/bacterial cellulose/PPy composites,[286] de-intercalation process. From this viewpoint, the synthesis
freestanding TiO2/graphene/PPy composite,[287] PPy/SG com- and fabrication of these nanocomposites are challenging and
posite,[288] and PPy/rGO-CTAB[289] have also been considered as this requires further structure optimization and performance
promising electrodes for supercapacitors. improvement.
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to its high electronic and protonic conductivities as well as high

Review
3.4. Graphene/Carbon Nanocomposites

degree of redox process reversibility taking place over a wide
Different types of graphene/carbon nanocomposites can be potential range (up to 1.4 V).[309,310] However, pure metal oxide-
prepared by mixing nanostructured carbons with graphene via based electrodes suffer from relatively low power performance
chemical and physical methods, hence combining the material and poor cyclability because of their relatively low electrical con-
properties can lead to improved electrolyte–electrode accessi- ductivities and serious agglomeration, leading to incomplete
bility and enhanced electrical conductivity of electrode.[295–298] reactions during the electrochemical redox processes. In order
Monolayer graphene sheets tend to form agglomerates and to limit these obstacles and achieve improved electrochemical
may even undergo stacking to form graphite,[299,300] which can properties, many transition metal oxide/carbon composite elec-
be prevented by incorporating other carbon materials (carbon trodes have been investigated.[142,311–313] Carbon-based nano-
nanotubes, porous carbon spheres, activated carbon spheres, composites can take full advantage of double-layer capacitance
carbon black, etc.) to fabricate different graphene/carbon nano- and pseudocapacitance, leading to increased energy density
composites. For instance, self-assembly of multiwalled carbon and extended cycle life.[142] A particularly attractive option is
nanotubes (MWCNTs) and polyethylenimine (PEI)-modified to design and develop hybrid films based on graphene–metal
graphene sheets leads to the formation of hybrid interconnected oxide nanocomposites. Among these graphene-transition metal
nanocomposite carbon films with well-defined nano pores. oxide nanocomposites, the graphene phase with high surface
This nanocomposite electrode exhibited rectangular cyclic vol- area governs the specific capacitance; while their high elec-
tammograms (CV) with a specific capacitance of 120 F g−1 at tronic conductivity is crucial to the improvement of rate capa-
a scan rate of 1 V s−1.[301] Graphene/MWCNT composites syn- bility and power density.[182,314–317] For example, the reduction
thesized via layer-by-layer-assembly can have a large volumetric of permanganate on graphene resulted in the formation of gra-
capacitance of ≈160 F cm−3 in 0.5 m H2SO4 electrolyte.[302] CNTs phene–MnO2 composite electrodes with a specific capacitance
inserted between rGO sheets show enhanced cycleability and of 310 F g−1 at a scan rate of 2 mV s−1.[318] Graphene–MnO2
rate performance,[302,303] because 1D CNTs could physically nanocomposites prepared by electrodeposition showed a spe-
separate 2D graphene sheets, preserving their high surface cific capacitance of ≈315 F g−1.[319] Asymmetric capacitors with
area and creating new pores. CNTs–graphene composite mate- graphene–MnO2 textile and SWCNTs in an aqueous Na2SO4
rials synthesized by CVD have shown good performance as electrolyte exhibit a maximum power density of 110 kW kg−1
supercapacitors.[304] In another study, hybrids of porous carbon and energy density of 12.5 Wh kg−1 with 95% capacitance reten-
materials with graphene showed outstanding stability for over tion for over 5000 cycles.[319]
1000 cycles with 94% capacitance retention.[305] rGO-activated Recently, Choi et al. fabricated 3D macroporous chemical
carbon nanocomposites were also reported to have high specific modified graphene (named embossed-CMG (e-CMG) films) by
capacities of about 400 F g−1 at a current density of 1 A g−1 in using polystyrene colloidal particles as a sacrificial template.[224]
KOH and 287 F g−1 at a current density of 0.5 A g−1 in an IL Furthermore, a thin layer of MnO2 was additionally deposited
electrolyte.[306] A hierarchical nanostructured functionalized onto e-CMG (Figure 7a,b).[224] The 3D porous graphene
carbon spheres/graphene hybrids enhanced the specific capaci- structure with a large surface area facilitated fast ionic trans-
tance of graphene by >70%.[307] The incorporation of carbon port within the electrode while preserving decent electronic
black (CB) into graphene sheets has been shown to improve conductivity and thus endowed MnO2/e-CMG composite elec-
the overall electrode conductivity and increase planar spacing trodes with excellent electrochemical properties, such as a
between graphene sheets, leading to rapid diffusion paths for high specific capacitance of 389 F g−1 at 1 A g−1 and enhanced
more edge plane participation in double-layer capacitance.[308] capacitance retention upon a current increase to 35 A g−1.
Although the idea of using carbons to separate graphene Moreover, when the MnO2/e-CMG composite electrode was
sheets is promising and novel, further engineering of gra- asymmetrically assembled with an e-CMG electrode, the cell
phene synthesis is required to reduce the production cost of showed improved reversible capacitance, excellent cycle life per-
nanocomposites. In addition, the selection of dense carbons, formance (Figure 7c) along with remarkable energy density of
such as CNT, CNF, should be an ideal choice for these architec- 44 Wh kg−1, power density of 25 kW kg−1 (Figure 7d).[224]
tures, because they can help lower the overall tap density and New ternary composites of MnO2 nanorods, PANi and GO
increase electrolyte uptake, which might be helpful for practical were prepared by a two-step process. The 100 nm long MnO2
applications. nanorods with a diameter ≈20 nm were conformally coated
with PANi layers and fastened between GO layers.[320] The ter-
nary composite with 70% MnO2 exhibited the highest specific
3.5. Graphene/Transition Metal Oxides (or Hydroxide) capacitance of 512 F g−1 and outstanding cycling performance,
Nanocomposites with ≈97% capacitance retention over 5000 cycles, which was
much higher than for PANi/GO binary composites.[320] On the
Transition metal oxides including MnO2, Mn3O4, RuO2, Co3O4, other hand, ternary composites of MnO2, PPy, and rGO hybrid
Fe3O4, SnO2, NiO, Nb2O5, and ZnO have been widely used as composites delivered a maximum specific capacitance as high
electrode materials for supercapacitors. For example, MnO2 is as 404 F g−1 with a capacitance retention over 91% after 5000
a promising material for supercapacitor owing to its superior cycles.[321] In another study, Han and co-workers integrated MnOx
electrochemical performance, environmental friendliness, and nanoparticles onto flexible graphite paper using an ultrathin
low production cost.[130,131] RuO2 (including hydrous and amor- CNT and rGO (CNT/rGO) layer as the supporting layer.[322]
phous RuO2) has exceptionally high charge storage capacity due Supercapacitor electrodes employing the MnOx/CNT/rGO
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Review
Figure 7. a) Low-magnified, and b) High-magnified cross-sectional SEM images of macroporous embossed chemically modified graphenes (e-CMG)
film. c) The dependences of the specific capacitances of CMG, MnO2/CMG, e-CMG, and MnO2/e-CMG films on various current densities ranging from
0.5 to 35 A g−1. d) The power density vs energy density of 3D macroporous graphene film and packed graphene film in a Ragone plot. Reproduced with
permission.[224] Copyright 2012, American Chemical Society.
nanohybrids without any conductive additives or binders yielded graphene amounts, which can once again affect the tap density
a specific capacitance of 1070 F g−1 at 10 mV s−1, which was and high electrolyte uptake. In order to overcome these prob-
among the highest values reported for a range of hybrid struc- lems and keep graphene to low composition, precise design
tures and it is close to the theoretical capacity of MnOx. In addi- and synthesis of these composites are required.
tion, a further plasma treatment of the CNT/rGO supporting Graphene/RuO2 nanocomposites have also has been
layer led to improved adhesion of MnOx nanoparticles to the designed in different electrolytes with improved electrochem-
electrode surface, which resulted in improved cycling stability ical capacitance. Wu et al. synthesized hydrous graphene–RuO2
of the nanohybrid electrodes. These excellent performances composites for supercapacitor by a combination of sol–gel and
were attributed to three factors: (i) Compared to single-phased low-temperature annealing processes, which delivered a specific
MnO2, MnOx compounds (i.e., Mn atoms with multiple oxida- capacitance of 570 F g−1 at 38.3 wt% Ru.[327] In the same vein,
tion states and phases) usually contain both donor and acceptor Deng et al. prepared graphene/RuO2 nanocomposites using a
sites in their microstructures as well as defects and mismatch solution-phase assembly for high-performance pseudocapaci-
induced by different phases, which can enable a higher charge tors.[328] Since both RuO2 and graphene nanosheets uniformly
storage capacity; (ii) the excellent structural features, including interlink with each other, these nanocomposites maintain good
porous architecture, small and uniform size, and high electrical electrical conductivity and a high structural stability. This syner-
conductivity of both CNT and rGO; and (iii) the synergistic use gistic effect leads to a high specific capacitance of 479 F g−1, a
of carbon nanomaterials and plasma-related effects.[322] high energy density of 20.28 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 600
In addition, MnO2 nanowires/graphene,[323] graphene nano W kg−1 along with excellent cyclic performance. Ozkan et al.
plate/MnO2,[324] porous graphene/MnO2,[224,325] graphene/ reported a simple and scalable way to prepare 3D RuO2/gra-
MnO2 composite and activated CNFs for asymmetric capacitors phene/CNT hybrid nanocomposites with graphene foam con-
have also been investigated.[326] However, due to the insulating formally covered with hybrid networks of RuO2 nanoparticles
nature of MnO2, the synthesis of nanocomposites requires high and anchored CNTs for high-performance supercapacitor
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electrodes. This tri-component nanocomposites showed More recently, Dubal et al. designed a hybrid energy storage
Review
superior gravimetric, per-area capacitive performance and devices using hybrid electrodes based on rGO and pseudoca-
exceptionally high energy and power density, demonstrating pacitive Ni(OH)2 and Co(OH)2 deposited on the skeleton of 3D
that hybrid RuO2/graphene/CNT nanocomposites are prom- macroporous sponge support (Figure 8).[348] In this fascinating
ising materials for future energy storage applications.[329] In design, the authors first coated rGO onto the bare sponge sub-
another study, Zhang et al. prepared quasi graphene nanosheet strate by “dip and dry“ method using rGO ink in an aqueous
(QGN)/RuO2 by GO modification along the longitudinal direc- solution and, subsequently depositing nanostructured Ni(OH)2
tion of MWCNTs with RuO2 nanoparticles uniformly dispersed and Co(OH)2 by the chemical bath deposition (CBD) strategy
on the surface. The as-synthesized graphene/RuO2 nanocom- (Figure 8a).[348] The 3D macroporous conducting framework
posites exhibited good capacitive properties compared to pure uniformly covered with aggregates of rGO sheet with high sur-
RuO2 and pure QGN in both acidic and alkaline electrolytes. face area could be formed, which provided enough space for the
QGN/RuO2 composites achieved a high voltage window of further heavy and uniform deposition of Ni(OH)2 and Co(OH)2
1.6 V with excellent energy and power densities.[330] Neverthe- onto the skeleton of the sponge.[348] A schematic of this hybrid
less, Ru is a rare metal and quite expensive, therefore, the fea- device is sketched in Figure 8b, the characteristic of hybrid elec-
sibility of using Ru for daily applications is highly improbable. trode is hybridization of pseudocapacitive component Ni(OH)2
In addition to MnO2 and RuO2, other graphene/transition and Co(OH)2 and nonfaradic component rGO in a single elec-
metal oxide (or hydroxides)-based nanocomposites, such as trode so that energy can be stored through both mechanism
graphene–Co3O4,[331,332] graphene–Fe3O4,[333,334] graphene– (Figure 8b,c).[348]
SnO2,[335] graphene–NiO,[336] graphene–Fe2O3,[165–167] graphene– Finally, long cycling-life tests were carried out for the rGO/
ZnO,[335,337] graphene–TiO2,[168–170] graphene–Mn3O4,[338,339] rGO@Ni(OH)2 and rGO/rGO@Co(OH)2 hybrids by repeating
graphene–CuO,[174,175] graphene–NiO–MnO2,[340] graphene– the CV test at a scan rate of 100 mV s−1 for 2000 cycles
VO2,[341] graphene–V2O5,[342] graphene–Nb2O5,[188,189,202] gra- (Figure 8d,e).[348] In that work, the specific capacitance was
phene–CeO2,[343] graphene–ZnO,[184] graphene-mixed-valent decreased suddenly after the initial 50 cycles, which was prob-
MnOx,[344] graphene–α–MoO3,[345] graphene–NiFe2O4,[346] gra- ably related to the pulverization and loss of electrical contact
phene–NiCo2O4,[180–182] graphene–Co(OH)2,[347,348] graphene– between the active materials and the current as well as to wet-
Ni(OH)2,[349,350] graphene–MnO2–PANi,[320] etc. have been tability issues.[348] After 2000 cycles, the rGO/rGO@Ni(OH)2
also used as potential supercapacitor materials with good per- and rGO/rGO@Co(OH)2 hybrid devices displayed an excellent
formance. For example, a 3D graphene–Co3O4 composite was long cycle life with 90% and 87% retention of the initial values,
found to be capable of delivering a high specific capacitance of respectively (Figure 8d,e).[348] Such a stable and connecting
about 1100 F g–1 at a current density of 10 A g–1 with excel- structure helped alleviate the structure damage caused by
lent cycling stability.[351] The graphene–Fe3O4 nanocomposite volume expansion during cycling process, which resulted in an
exhibited a high specific discharge capacitance of 220.1 F g−1 enhanced stability.[348] More importantly, the excellent stability
at 0.5 A g−1 and remains stable for more than 3000 cycles.[158] confirmed the proper hybridization of two different (pseudoca-
This good performance was attributed to the chemical interac- pacitive and non-faradic) materials. Figure 8f shows the Ragone
tion between graphene and Fe3O4, lower agglomeration and plot of the rGO/rGO@Ni(OH)2 and rGO/rGO@Co(OH)2
smaller particle size of Fe3O4. The optimized graphene–Fe3O4 hybrid devices. The as-assembled SP@rGO//SP@rGO@Ni
paper even displayed a high specific capacitance of 368 F g−1 hybrid device with a cell voltage of 1.5 V delivered a high spe-
at 1 A g−1 and remained 245 F g−1 at 5 A g−1 for more than cific energy of 42.02 Wh kg−1 with a maximum specific power
1000 cycles.[352] Dong et al. reported results on the synthesis of 11 kW kg−1 while the SP@rGO//SP@rGO@Co cell exhibited
of ultrathin scale-like NiCo2O4 nanosheets (NSs) supported on 33.01 Wh kg−1 with a specific power of 8 kW kg−1.[348] Further-
N-doped rGO (N-rGO) for use in high-performance supercapac- more, these devices can retain an energy density >10 Wh kg−1
itors.[353] The NiCo2O4 NSs@N-rGO nanocomposite delivered a even at a high power density.[348] The energy density reported in
specific capacitance of 1540 F g−1 after 1000 cycles at 10 A g−1. this work was significantly higher than those obtained for other
Recently, a facile strategy was utilized to synthesize a gra- carbon-based symmetric capacitors in aqueous electrolytes.[348]
phene/Co(OH)2 nanocomposite for supercapacitors by depos- We took notice of the facts that the electrochemical signa-
iting Co(OH)2 nanoparticles on the graphene sheets in a tures (e.g., cyclic voltammogram and charge/discharge curve)
water–isopropyl alcohol system[354] The graphene/Co(OH)2 of nickel oxide/hydroxide and cobalt oxide/hydroxide are analo-
nanocomposite exhibited a specific capacitance of 960 F g−1 at gous to that of a “battery” and they should be considered Fara-
high current density of 10 A g−1, demonstrating a significant daic electrodes,[355] because they do not display an electrochem-
improvement in performance compared to each individual ical behavior typical of that observed for a capacitive carbon elec-
counterpart. In addition, after 5000 cycles of charge/discharge, trode in mild aqueous electrolyte (as shown in traditional super
the Co(OH)2/graphene composite maintained 93.4% of its initial capacitor electrode materials such as MnO2, etc.).[355] Based
specific capacitance value at a current density of 30 A g−1.[354] In these facts, nickel oxide/hydroxide and cobalt oxide/hydroxide
the same line, Dai and co-workers fabricated graphene–Ni(OH)2 are usually not considered supercapacitors materials. This infor-
nanocomposites, in which Ni(OH)2 hexagonal nanoplates were mation has been reported by Brousse et al.[355] and supported
grown on low-oxidation graphene sheets that resulted in a high by Gogotsi et al.[16] which shed light to this topic and help the
specific capacitance of ≈1335 F g−1.[349] The metal oxides in con- authors correctly address the description of the electrodes.
junction with graphene acted as hybrid materials that contrib- However, just as Brousse described, the behaviors of many
uted to the high capacity of these materials. electrochemical capacitor-relevant materials are more complex
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Review
Figure 8. a) Schematic representation of the fabrication of hybrid materials based on rGO and transition metal hydroxides (Ni(OH)2 and Co(OH)2)
onto skeleton of 3D macroporous sponge. b,c) Schematic representation of hybrid device of hybrid electrode (supercapacitor (SP)@rGO@Ni(OH)2
or SP@rGO@Co(OH)2) and SP@rGO electrode with propylene carbonate paper as separator along with charge-potential profile. Variation of capacity
retention of d) SP@rGO//SP@rGO@Ni(OH)2, and e) SP@rGO//SP@rGO@Co(OH)2 hybrid devices with number of cycles at 100 mV s−1 scan rate
and the corresponding CV curves (inset) at first and 2000th cycles. f) The power density versus energy density of SP@rGO//SP@rGO@Ni(OH)2, and
SP@rGO//SP@rGO@Co(OH)2 hybrid devices in a Ragone plot. Reproduced with permission.[348] Copyright 2014, Nature Publishing Group.
than that described by a single term.[355] Some compounds cathode, graphene–Fe2N anode, and poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA)/
exhibit both mechanisms with a pseudocapacitive contribution LiCl-based solid electrolyte delivered an irreversible capacitance
coming from the surface properties and faradaic contribution of about 58 F g−1 at 4 A g−1.[372] This capacitance was relatively
coming from other mechanisms.[355] Because of these reasons, stable for up to 20 000 cycles.[372] Moreover, both high volu-
many more papers continually report nickel oxide/hydroxide metric energy density and power density can be achieved at a
and cobalt oxide/hydroxide as supercapacitor materials. In this high current density of 8 A g−1.[372] A CoS/graphene hydrogel
manuscript, we also have described these materials as pseudo- composites exhibited a maximum specific capacitance of
capacitive electrodes. 435.7 F g−1 at a current density of 0.5 A g−1 in 6 m KOH elec-
trolyte, which was significantly higher than that of CoS and
graphene. Furthermore, the graphene/CoS nanocomposites
3.6. Graphene/Transition Metal Nitrides (or Sulfide) also showed excellent cycling stability with 82.3% a capacitance
Nanocomposites retention over 3000 cycles, which is higher than that of pure
CoS. The enhanced electrochemical properties exhibited by the
In addition to transition metal oxide (or hydroxides) nano- graphene/CoS composite highlight the special hydrogel struc-
composites, transition metal nitrides (e.g., TiN, VN, Mo3N2, ture and synergistic effects between CoS and graphene.[368] In
etc.),[356–361] and transition metal sulfides (CoS2, NiS, CoMoS4, the same line, Huang and co-workers synthesized MoS2/rGO
MoS2, CuS, MnS, etc.),[362–366] are also promising materials for nanocomposites for use as electrodes in supercapacitors.[366] A
use in supercapacitors due to their high specific capacitance, capacitance of 243 F g−1 was reported at a current density of
exceptional electrochemical properties, and excellent electrical 1 A g−1 with energy density of 73.5 Wh kg−1 at a power density
conductivity. However, pure transitional metal nitride or metal of 19.8 kW kg−1.
sulfide electrodes suffer from irreversible oxidation reactions,
which lead to poor cycleability.[356–361] Hence, metal nitrides or
metal sulfide in conjunction with conductive carbon, such as 3.7. Graphene/Layer Hydroxides Nanocomposites
graphene, can prevent the oxidation reaction and improve the
cycleability of these materials.[367–371] For example, an asymmet- Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) are in the form of
rical solid state supercapacitor constructed from graphene–TiN [M2+1−x M3+x(OH)2][An−x/n.mH2O] with M representing metal
www.advenergymat.de
cations and A representing the interlayer anion of n-valency. with graphene/MnO2-textile as the positive electrode and
Review
Xu and co-workers fabricated a hierarchical 3D composite SWNTs-textile as the negative electrode in an aqueous Na2SO4
composed of graphene layers with LDH nanosheet arrays electrolyte solution.[319] These devices exhibit promising char-
grown on both sides.[373] It was found that the NiAl–LDH acteristics with maximum power density of 110 kW kg−1,
nanosheet arrays grow perpendicularly and uniformly on energy density of 12.5 Wh kg−1, and excellent cycling perfor-
both sides of the graphene sheets, constructing a hierar- mance with ≈95% capacitance retention for over 5000 cycles.
chical 3D nanocomposite with an interesting sandwich In another study, Wang et al. developed both Ni(OH)2 nano-
structure. Dong and co-workers fabricated multilayer films plates and RuO2 nanoparticles on high-quality graphene sheets
of Co–Al LDH nanosheets and GO using layer-by-layer (LBL) to pair up a Ni(OH)2/graphene electrode with battery character-
assembly.[374] These films exhibited a high specific capaci- istics and a RuO2/graphene electrode with capacitor character-
tance of 880 F g−1, an area capacitance of 70 F m−2 at a scan istics. The asymmetrical supercapacitor exhibited better energy
rate of 5 mV s−1 and good cycleability for over 2000 cycles. density than symmetrical supercapacitors with RuO2 and also
The reduction of these films in H2 resulted in increased spe- better than asymmetrical supercapacitors based on individual
cific capacitance and area capacitance of up to 1204 F g−1 and electrode pairs.[378] A novel Li-ion hybrid capacitor based on 3D
90 F m−2, respectively, due to the partial reduction of GO. VN–rGO composite and porous carbon nanorods as the anode
Several LDH/graphene nanocomposites were also prepared and cathode, respectively, can have an ultrahigh energy den-
using different synthesis techniques showed improved spe- sity of 162 Wh kg−1 at 200 W kg−1, which remained at around
cific capacitance and area capacitance.[186–190] 64 Wh kg−1 even at a high power density of 10 kW kg−1.[371]
Transition metal oxides (hydroxides), transition metal In addition to the above-mentioned reports, graphene/gra-
nitrides, transition metal sulfides, layer hydroxides have been phene–MnO2 nanoflowers,[379] CNFs/graphene–MnO2,[326]
widely used as pseudo-capacitive materials. Due to their chem- MnFe2O4/graphene as anode and MnO2/CNTs as cathodes,[380]
ical charge storage mechanism, pseudocapacitors show higher activated graphene–PANi/graphene/CNTs,[381] NiOOH/
energy density and storage capacity, but usually exhibit a slow Ni3S2/3D graphene as an anode and Fe3O4/graphene com-
charge storage and limited lifetime. Increasing the energy den- posite as a cathode,[382] among others,[383] have been employed
sity of supercapacitor electrodes without losing their power den- in asymmetric capacitors with high energy density as well as
sity and rate capability is a challenge that can be addressed by power density paving the way for further development in this
a rational design of the electrodes and producing carbon-metal area.
oxide hybrid structures. Supercapacitors with graphene-based Recently, graphene-based fibers[384–386] and graphene-
nanocomposites can store much higher charge than the con- based composite fibers[301,387–391] have also been used for
ventional capacitors. However, their energy density is still low microsupercapacitors. However, the increase in volumetric
in comparison to Li-ion batteries and fuel cells. Asymmetric energy density leads to a decrease in both power density and
supercapacitors with enhanced energy density are considered cycle life. The important factors affecting the performance of
as good alternatives to replace supercapacitors in high specific microsupercapacitors are the intrinsic properties of electrode
power applications.[200,375] The following section is focused on materials and electrolyte, architectural design of the device and
the design of graphene nanocomposites and their use in asym- the fabrication methods.[392] Dai et al. synthesized hierarchical
metric supercapacitors. carbon microfibers with interconnected network of aligned
SWNTs and mesoporous nitrogen-doped rGO sheets with high
specific surface area and ultrahigh electrical conductivity.[393]
3.8. Graphene Nanocomposites for Asymmetric Supercapacitors The as-synthesized composite electrode exhibited a high volu-
and Microsupercapacitors metric capacity of ≈300 F cm−3 in PVA/H3PO4 electrolyte. This
PVA/H3PO4 electrolyte-based supercapacitors were free of
Asymmetric supercapacitors primarily combines Faradic elec- binder, current collector, and separator with a high volumetric
trode (as energy source) and capacitive electrode (as power energy density of 6.3 mWh cm−3, stable cycling and excellent
source) to increase the operation voltage thus enhancing their power density.[393]
energy density while retaining their intrinsic high specific Flexible solid-state supercapacitors have attracted considerable
power.[339,350,376,377] The different graphene and graphene- interest as mobile power supply sources in the future. Graphene-
based nanocomposites with high surface area can store charges based thin films have been used for flexible solid-state superca-
electrostatically via reversible ion absorption at the electrode/ pacitors with high gravimetric specific capacitance.[394] Recently,
electrolyte interface. The addition of transition metal oxides or 3D graphene hydrogel films,[394] PANi–graphene nanoribbons/
redox conducting polymers, which use fast and reversible redox CNTs,[395] graphene/PPy composite fibers,[391] MnO2/graphene
reactions at the surface of the electroactive materials for charge and CNT/graphene composites,[396] and PANi–rGO/CF com-
storage, can lead to high pseudo-capacitance. In recent study, posite[397] have been used for flexible supercapacitors with rea-
Cheng and co-workers designed a high-voltage asymmetric sonable capacitance and cycling stability. Table 1 summarizes
supercapacitor using pure graphene as a negative electrode and more of the various types of graphene-based nanocomposites
graphene/MnO2 nanocomposites as a positive electrode.[323] that have been employed in supercapacitor electrodes.
Na2SO4 aqueous electrolyte-based hybrid supercapacitors As discussed earlier, the results reported on the use of gra-
that can be cycled reversibly in high voltage region have high phene and graphene-based nanocomposites for supercapaci-
energy density and high power density. Similarly, Yu and co- tors are promising. However, there are several issues that need
workers fabricated asymmetric electrochemical capacitors to be addressed. First, despite the significant advancements
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Table 1. Examples of different graphene-based nanocomposites for supercapacitors reported in the literature.
Review
Materials Electrolyte Electrochemical performance
MnO2 nanorods–graphene oxide–PANi ternary composites [320]
1 m Na2SO4 Capacitance can be 512 F g−1, cycle life > 5000 cycles
α-MnO2/GO nanocomposites[399] 1 m Li2SO4 Capacitance can be 280 F g−1, energy density: 35 Wh kg−1,
power density: 7.5 kW kg−1, cycle life > 1000
Graphene/NiO–MnO2 nanocomposite[340] 6 m KOH Capacitance can be 242.15 F g−1
Ag/MnO2/rGO[400] 3 m KOH Capacitance can be 467.5 F g−1, cycle life > 1000
Co3O4/graphene nanocomposite [401]
6 m KOH Specific capacitance of 415 F g−1
Co3O4 nanoplates/graphene composites [402]
2 m KOH Specific capacitance of 667.9 F g−1
Needle-like Co3O4/graphene[178] 2 m KOH Specific capacitance of 157.7 F g–1, cycle life > 4000
Fe3O4/rGO nanocomposite [403]
2 m KOH Specific capacitance of 220.1 F g−1, cycle life > 3000
Fe3O4/rGO composite[404] Specific capacitance of 350.6 F g−1
Graphene/Fe3O4 nanocrystals[405] 1 m KOH Specific capacitance of 169 F g−1, cycle life > 1000
Fe2O3/graphene composite [406]
1 m KOH Specific capacitance of 908 F g−1
Fe2O3/graphene nanocomposite[407] 1 m Na2SO4 Specific capacitance of 226 F g−1
Fe2O3 nanoparticles/N-graphene[167] 1 m KOH Specific capacitance can be 618 F g–1, cycle life > 5000
SnO2/graphene nanocomposites [408]
1 m KOH Specific capacitance can be 363.3 F g−1
ZnO@rGO[409] 2 m KOH Specific capacitance can be 314 F g−1
NiO nanoflake/3D graphene[410] 1 m NaOH Specific capacitance ≈1829 F g−1, energy density: 138 Wh kg−1,
power density: 5.25 kW kg−1
Graphene/WO3[411] 1 m H2SO4 Specific capacitance can be 143.6 F g−1
Graphene/TiO2 [412]
1 m Na2SO4 A high specific capacitance of 165 F g−1
in supercapacitors, it is worth mentioning that the current process, Li ions move from back to the anode through the non-
graphene-based supercapacitors still have lower (than aqueous electrolyte, carrying the current (Figure 9).[83]
expected) energy density for advanced energy storage applica- Graphene and graphene-based nanocomposites have
tions. Second, transition metal oxides (hydroxide), transition attracted tremendous attention for use in rechargeable Li-ion
metal nitrides (or sulfide), and conductive polymers incur batteries due to their superior properties.[208,415–419] Theo-
higher costs than the commercial carbon-based materials for retically, graphene has good Li-storage ability, since Li can be
supercapacitors. bound on both sides of graphene sheets, sheet edges, and dif-
More research efforts are needed to address the above ferent types of defect sites. Graphene can also significantly
issues including the fabrication of novel graphene hybrids enhance the electron conduction on contact with electrochemi-
with higher specific surface area, controlled porosity and cally active materials in Li-ion batteries when used as conduc-
high electrochemical activity to make supercapacitors a viable tive matrix and effectively prevent aggregation of materials
option for storing energy comparable to that of Li-based bat- during lithiation/delithiation processes.[419,420] Hence, gra-
teries.[139,398] In the following section, the discussion will be phene and graphene-based nanostructured materials offer an
centered on the progress made on the synthesis of graphene exciting solution to the current limitations and issues related
and graphene nanocomposites for Li ion batteries and the to gravimetric energy density. High surface area graphene
associated challenges. allows for two fundamental improvements over conventional
flat electrode design: (i) Higher Li uptake leads to increased
storage capacity; and (ii) increased rate capability due to faster
4. Li-Ion Batteries interfacial kinetics.[208,415–418] In the following sections, we dis-
cuss the experimental results reported on using graphene and
Li-ion batteries have received extensive attention from the sci- graphene nanocomposites as anodes and cathodes for Li-ion
entific community as one of the most popular energy storage batteries.
systems for applications in different areas due to their several
important advantages, such as high energy density, no memory
effect, long cycle life, and low self-discharging.[10,413,414] A Li-ion 4.1. Anodes
cell consists of four functional components, e.g., the anode
(negative electrode), cathode (positive electrode), electrolyte, and 4.1.1. Graphene-Based Anodes
separator.[10,413,414] During charging, an external electrical power
source forces the current to pass in the reverse direction and In Li-ion batteries, the anode is considered to be a crucial com-
enables the migration (diffusion) of Li ions from the cathode ponent affecting the battery performance.[421–423] Nanostruc-
to the anode through the electrolyte. During the discharging tured materials have been extensively used as anodes in Li-ion
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graphene and graphene/electrochemically

Review
active material-based nanocomposites for

Li-ion battery anodes.
4.1.2. Porous Graphene
Compared with pure graphene sheet, porous

graphene has a larger specific surface area
and a larger number of additional defects,
which increases the number of electrochemi-
cally active Li-storage sites.[231,438–441] In addi-
tion, porous graphene with well-defined
pores can further accelerate the Li-ion dif-
fusion kinetics and minimize the Li-ion
insertion/extraction distance because of the
interconnected channels that connect the
interior active sites.[231,438–441] It was reported
that the specific capacities of these 2D porous
graphene nanosheets can reach an extraor-
dinary high level, e.g., 1040 mAh g−1 at
−1 −1 −1 [439]
Figure 9. Schematic of showing the working principle of graphene-based electrodes for Li-ion 100 mA g and 255 mAh g at 5 A g .
batteries. With the anode composed of graphene flakes, the cathode is a hybrid graphene–Li Another reported 3D hierarchical porous gra-
compound (such as LiCoO2 or LiFePO4). The graphene-based electrode can help enhance elec- phene aerogel with tunable mesopores on
tron transport kinetics compared with graphene-free Li compounds. Reproduced with permis- graphene nanosheets exhibited superior elec-
sion.[83] Copyright 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science. trochemical performance including a high
reversible specific capacity of 1100 mAh g−1
batteries due to their high surface area and fast Li+ diffusion at a current density of 0.1 A g−1, outstanding cycling stability
and therefore their high ability of storing more Li+ than that and excellent rate performance. Even at a large current den-
for bulk materials.[421,424–428] Li storage in graphene has been sity of 20 A g−1, the reversible capacity was approximately
extensively explored to better understand its electrochemical 300 mAh g−1, which is larger than many porous carbon-based
properties.[429–433] Guo et al. used chemically prepared graphene anodes reported elsewhere.[434] However, the outstanding elec-
as anode for rechargeable Li-ion batteries with charge and dis- trochemical performance of porous graphene still suffers from
charge capacities of 1233 mAh g−1 and 672 mAh g−1, respec- possible aggregation and the restacking of individual graphene
tively, and a coulombic efficiency of 54.5% at the first cycle.[433] nanosheets.
The reversible capacity retention after 30 cycles was about 502
mAh g−1. In fact, the electrolyte interaction with oxygen-based
functional groups and electrolyte penetration into graphene 4.1.3. Heteroatom-Doped Graphene-Based Anodes
leads to SEI formation in nanocavities/defects of graphene
and hence gives rise to the high irreversible capacity.[429–433] N-doped graphene (N-graphene),[435,442–444] B-doped graphene
Graphene can produce high specific Li-storage capacity, but (B-graphene),[442] P-doped graphene (P-graphene),[445] and
the lack of a distinct discharge plateau, high discharge poten- S-doped graphene (S-graphene)[446] can also lead to improved
tial, large first cycle capacity loss due to high graphene surface performance when used as anodes for Li-ion batteries. For
reactivity, high cost of graphene, and low packing density may example, the reversible discharge capacity of N-graphene
limit their applications as anodes for Li-ion batteries. In addi- is almost double compared to the pristine graphene due
tion, single sheets of graphene with defects are quite reactive to the additional surface and structural defects induced by
which can contribute to electrolyte decomposition and reaction N-doping.[435] Long-term cycling of N-graphene delivered a spe-
leading to SEI formation after the first cycle. More works and cific capacity of 684 mAh g−1 after 500 cycles, indicating both
new strategies are required to help make graphene an ideal and higher capacity and excellent capacity retention are possible.[443]
practical anode material for Li-ion batteries. A higher rate testing showed that N-graphene and B-graphene
Recent research studies show that Li ions are difficult to sta- delivered capacities of about 199 and 235 mAh g−1 at 25 A g−1,
bilize and diffuse in the pure graphene without defects. The respectively.[442] P-graphene also exhibit significantly enhanced
performance of pure graphene-based electrodes normally suf- electrochemial properties in comparison to undoped one. The
fers from severe graphene aggregation, which would inevitably reversible capacity can be more than 460 mAh g−1 (this value
hinder inferior ionic accessibility.[429,434–437] Therefore, a better is about 280 mAh g−1 for undoped graphene) for over 80 cycles
design of a graphene electrode material is essential to further along with excellent rate capability.[445] The effects of S doping
boost the performance of graphene in Li-ion batteries. [429,434–437] on the electrochemical properties of graphene for use as Li-ion
Nowadays, researchers focus on the fabrication of high perfor- battery anodes were also studied. S doping in graphene contrib-
mance anode materials comprising of porous graphene, doped utes to the high specific capacity by providing more Li storage
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sites due to the Faradaic reactions and improved electrical The graphene paste anode is considered as a good candidate
Review
conductivity. In addition, good cyclic stability of S-graphene for future development needed to design ultrafast, high energy/
is maintained even after 500 cycles at a high current rate of power Li-ion battery anodes for practical applications.
4C.[446] P and N dual-doped porous graphene were also reported
as anode for Li-ion batteries. The fabricated electrode exhibited
high reversible capacity (2250 mAh g−1 at 50 mA g−1, excellent 4.1.5. Different Types of Graphene Nanocomposite-Based Anodes
rate capability (750 mAh g−1 at 1000 mA g−1), and satisfactory
cycling stability (>1500 cycles), which are much better com- Graphene has also been used to anchor electrochemically
pared to the undoped graphene.[447] The excellent electrochem- active transition metal oxides (TiO2,[67,452–455] SnO2,[68,456–460]
ical performance of doped graphene could be attributed to the Fe3O4,[461,462] Co3O4,[463–465] Fe2O3,[466–468] FeO,[469] Mn3O4,[65,470]
doping induced surface disorders, defects, increased electronic MnO2,[471,472] MnO,[473–475] CuO,[476–478] NiO,[479–481] NiO/
conductivity and increased interplanar distance which lead to SiO2,[482] MoO2,[483] CoO,[484] SiO2,[485] ZnCo2O4,[423,486,487]
fast ion/electron transports. Recently, Wang and co-workers CeO2,[488] Cr2O3,[489] etc.), transition metal sulfides (MoS2,[490–492]
constructed a highly conductive network, hierarchically porous SnS2,[493–496] CoS,[497] FeS,[498] Co3S4,[499] and NiS,[500,501] etc.),
graphene electrode doped with heteroatom.[436] The novel transition metal nitrides (FeN,[502] CoN,[502] NiN,[502] TiN,[503,504]
electrodes delivered high energy density and power density VN,[505] etc.), transition metal phosphide (Co2P,[506] CoP,[507]
of 322 Wh kg–1 and 116 kW kg–1, respectively, at a high cur- Ni2P,[508,509] etc.), elements with alloying/dealloying mecha-
rent density of 80 A g–1. Furthermore, the optimized electrodes nism, such as semiconductors, metals, and other elements
exhibited long-cycling capability with nearly no capacity loss for (Si,[510–516] Ge,[517,518] Sn,[519–522] Sn-Sb,[523,524] P,[525] etc.) and
3000 cycles.[436] This strategy provided a couple of advantages, others,[526] to fabricate graphene-based nanocomposite anodes
such as the porous structure can accommodate more Li ions, for Li-ion batteries with improved performance.
hierarchical designing can overcome the problem of graphene The improvement in electrochemcial performance of gra-
sheet aggregation and the large interfacial resistance of loosely phene-based nanocomposites can be ascribed to three fac-
stacked graphene sheets. In addition, the doping of hetero tors: (i) Flexible graphene layers suppress the large volume
atoms can improve the ability of graphene to intercalate more expansion of these electrochemically active materials during
Li ions, enhance the conductivity of graphene, and facilitate the continuous charge/discharge processes and alleviate the
transport of electrons and Li-ions. aggregation/pulverization problems; (ii) graphene has excel-
lent electrical conductivity ensuring good electrical contact
between adjacent heterogeneous particles. As mentioned
4.1.4. Graphene Paste earlier, graphene has high surface area, surface defects
and high porosity giving rise to high Li storage capability,
A Li-ion battery provides capacities through Li intercalation enhanced electrolyte accessibility and rapid Li-ion diffu-
with an active electrode material, and therefore, its high-rate sion; and (iii) confining electrochemically active nanoparti-
performance is largely governed by Li+ diffusivity and electron cles between graphene layers can mitigate the restacking of
conductivity.[448–450] However, using a traditional procedure to graphene sheets and consequently keep their high surface
prepare the electrode usually leads to a low electrical conduc- area activity. These synergistic effects of both graphene and
tivity caused by many factors such as the poor contact resist- nanoparticles can combine the best merits of both materials.
ances by random pore structures, poor adhesion to the current Table 2 summarizes more of the various types of graphene-
collector, etc. This can result in poor rate capabilities for prac- based nanocomposites for Li-ion battery anodes.
tical Li-ion battery applications.[448–450] Recently, N- and B-doped Graphene/Transmission Metal Oxide Nanocomposite-Based
graphene pastes with conductive binders were reported to have Anodes: Paek et al. synthesized SnO2–graphene nanocom-
ultrahigh electrical conductivity, leading to a good rate capability posites by introducing SnO2 nanoparticles into graphene
of ≈178 mAh g−1 at 5.4C when used as Li-ion battery anodes.[442] nanosheets.[456] The graphene nanocomposite-based anodes
In another study, the use of photoflash and laser-reduced free- exhibited a high reversible capacity of 810 mAh g−1 at 50 Ma g−1
standing graphene paper-based anodes with micrometer-scale and relatively good capacity retention of 70% for over 30 cycles
pores, cracks, and intersheet voids facilitated efficient Li ions (570 mAh g−1). Wang et al. used anionic sulfate surfactants to
intercalation kinetics even at ultrafast charge/discharge rates stabilize functionalized graphene sheets (FGS) and facilitate
of more than 100C.[451] This photothermally reduced graphene in situ growth of rutile and anatase TiO2 on graphene surface
anode delivered a steady capacity of ≈156 mAh g−1 over 1000 (Figure 10a).[67] Amphiphilic surfactant plays an important role
cycles at high rates of ≈40C.[451] More recently, a reported mon- in interacting with both FGS and Ti oxide precursors, leading
olithically structured rGO anode, prepared from a conductive to the formation of homogeneously dispersed nanostructured
rGO paste, delivered outstanding cycling stability and ultrahigh TiO2 on FGS surfaces.[67] Rutile phase TiO2–FGS consist of ori-
reversible capacity at ultrafast charge/discharge rates.[450] These ented rod-like TiO2 architectures randomly coated on FGS and
excellent electrochemical performance could be attributed parallel to the FGS surface (Figure 10b),[67] while anatase TiO2–
to the numerous large surface areas and the open pores that FGS composites with 5 nm spherical nanocrystallites homoge-
facilitated the Li ion diffusion and decreased the contact resist- neously spread on FGS (Figure 10c).[67] Both nanocomposites
ance between the graphene layers in the 3D structure.[450] The showed enhanced Li-ion insertion/extraction kinetics, especially
excellent electrochemical properties reported in this study on at high current rates, which can be attributed to the increased
the graphene paste-based anodes are novel and very promising. electrical conductivity (Figure 10d,e).[67] In addition, TiO2–FGS
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Review
Table 2. Examples of different graphene-based nanocomposites for Li-ion batteries reported in the literature.
Materials Electrochemical performance

Graphene/SnO2 [527]
The initial discharge capacity is 1996 mAh g at the current density of 1 A g−1, the reversible discharge capacity can remained at
−1
1545.7 mAh g−1 at 40 cycles

Graphene/SnO2[528] The reversible discharge capacity is 1027 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1 after 165 cycles, cycle life is > 600 cycles
Graphene/Co3O4 [529]
A capacity of 910 mAh g−1 is retained after 100 cycles
Co3O4/rGO[530] The discharge capacity is 860 mAh g−1 after 120th cycle at 40 mA g−1 current density
Graphene/Fe3O4 [531]
The capacity is 785 mAh g−1 at 1C rate, the cycle life is > 500 cycles, the rate performance is good even at 60C
Graphene/Fe3O4 [532]
The discharge capacity is 1148 mAh g−1 after 50 cycles at 0.2C
Graphene/Fe2O3[533] The capacities are 946 and 634 mAh g−1 at a current density of 200 and 2000 mAg−1, respectively, the cycle life is > 450 cycles
Fe2O3–graphene sheet-on-sheet The reversible capacity is 662.4 mAh g−1 at 1000 mA g−1, the cycle life is > 100 cycles
sandwich-like nanocomposites[534]
Mn3O4/N-doped graphene[535] The reversible capacity is 828 mAh g−1after 40 cycles
Graphene/MnO [536]
The reversible capacity is 2014.1 mAh g−1 after 150 cycles at 200 mA g−1, the cycle life is > 400 cycles
Graphene/MnO[537] The initial charge capacity is 747 mAh g−1, the cycle life is >100 cycles
Graphene/NiO [538]
The capacity is 646, 509, 369 mAh g−1 after 35 cycles at a current densities of 100, 400 and 800 mA g−1, respectively
rGO/NiO [539]
The initial discharge capacity is 845 mAh g−1, after 300 cycles
anodes used in conjunction with LiFePO4 cathodes delivered on rGO surfaces with a reversible capacity 2.5 times that of
a high capacity of about 170 mAh g−1 along with excellent graphite and enhanced reversible capacity of ≈200 mAh g−1
capacity stability.[453] at a 10C rate (9260 mA g−1). Most importantly, full cells
Although metal oxides show huge improvements in capaci- assembled using these novel nanostructures as anodes and
ties, they have high volume changes during the charge–dis- LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2 as cathodes showed exceptional capacity
charge processes. This can lead to the development of high retention at various current rates. Results reported by Zhang
residual stresses and hence causing mechanical problems at the et al. on graphene–Fe3O4 nanocomposite anode delivered a high
interface of metal oxides and graphene, which can ultimately reversible specific capacity exceeding 1000 mAh g−1 at 90 mA g−1
cause their detachment from the surface leading to poor cycla- and remained at 704 mAh g−1 at 2700 mA g−1, with excellent rate
bility and total failure. capability and improved cycle stability.[541]
Wang et al. also adopted a ternary self-assembly approach N-graphene–transition metal oxide nanocomposites, such
to fabricate ordered transition metal oxide-FGS nanocompos- as N-graphene–SnO2,[542] N-graphene–Fe2O3,[543] N-graphene–
ites (Figure 11).[68] Anionic surfactants lead to the dispersion of MnO,[544] were also reported as promising anodes with high
hydrophobic domains on the FGS surface. Surfactant micelles specific capacity, high rate capability, and excellent cycling sta-
along with the FGS are the fundamental building blocks which bility. Zhou and co-workers synthesized N-graphene/SnO2
bind to the metal cations, forming ordered nanocomposites. nanocomposites that delivered high reversible capacity and
The final structure consists of crystallized metal oxides between good cycle performance due to the fact that the SnO2 nanopar-
FGS, which upon self-assembly form multilayered nanostruc- ticles were pinned on the graphene sheets by Sn-N-C bonds
tures. Alternatively, metal cations can self-assemble into hexag- which prevented the aggregation of SnO2 nanoparticles.[545] The
onal mesophases on the FGS surface if using a nonionic block N-graphene provided an undisturbed supply of the electrons that
copolymer surfactant. SnO2–FGSs nanocomposites synthesized enhanced the conductivity and stabilized the reversible storage
using the above technique form freestanding, robust films process of Li-ion.[546–548] In fact, the use of nanoscale materials
after vacuum filtration.[68] SEM images in Figure 11a,b of a pol- with graphene shows high capacity retention. However, the high
ished cross-section reveals parallel, layered architectures, while surface areas of graphene can also lead to SEI formation with
cross-sectional TEM in Figure 11c–g shows alternating layers high irreversible capacities. Therefore, more work is needed to
of nanocrystalline SnO2 and FGSs spanning the entire film.[68] design the materials at a large scale with the aim to overcome
SnO2–FGS nanocomposite electrodes without binders and cur- this particular challenge.
rent collectors showed extraordinary charge/discharge revers- Graphene/Transmission Metal Sulfide Nanocomposite-Based
ibility and excellent cycle performance as anodes for recharge- Anodes: Anodes prepared from graphene with transitional
able Li-ion batteries (Figure 11h).[68] FGS decorated with SnO2 metal sulfides also show good electrochemcial performance.
through thermal annealing showed a large reversible specific Transitional metal sulfides are considered as promising anode
capacity of ≈1026 mAh g−1 after 30 cycles at 35 mA g−1 current materials for Li-ion batteries due to their high theoretical capac-
density and 580 mAh g−1 after 100 cycles at 700 mA g−1 current ities, low cost, and ease of availability. However, capacity fading,
density (Figure 11i).[68] In another study, Ji et al. synthesized low conductivity, and poor cycle performance are drawbacks to
Fe3O4 nanoparticles/rGO using chemical co-precipitation and their potential applications.[549–552] Recent studies have demon-
subsequent high temperature reduction processes.[540] The as- strated that graphene can enhance the surface area and provide
synthesized material showed homogeneity of Fe3O4 nanoparticles conductive pathways, thereby improving the cycling stability
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Review
Figure 10. a) A schematic diagram showing the deposition of TiO2 on functionalized graphene sheets (FGS): Anionic sulfate surfactant mediated
stabilization of graphene self-assembly of TiO2–FGS hybrid nanostructures. TEM image of b) rutile TiO2–FGS, and c) Anatase TiO2–FGS. Specific
capacity of d) Rutile TiO2–FGS, and e) Anatase TiO2–FGS at various charge/discharge rates. Reproduced with permission.[67] Copyright 2009, American
Chemical Society.
of the transition metal sulfide-based electrodes.[497,553–555] For was found that the nanocomposites at (1:1) ratio delivered very
example, Chang and co-workers synthesized MoS2/graphene high reversible capacity of 1116 mAh g−1 with excellent cyclic
composites by a one-step in situ solution phase.[490] When stability and high-rate capability. The superior electrochemical
assembled as an anode for Li-ion batteries, these composites performance of the composites was attributed to their robust
exhibited improved reversible capacity of 1290 mAh g−1 at a composite structure, the synergistic effect between MoS2 and
current density of 100 mA g−1 and the capacity retained up to 50 graphene layers in the nanocomposites as well as the addition
cycles, which was almost a little more than double for pristine of amorphous carbon.
MoS2 electrode. In addition, the composites exhibited good rate In a work reported by Mahmood and co-workers, the authors
performance where a high specific capacity of 1040 mAh g−1 were able to synthesize N-doped graphene/Ni3S4 nanocom-
was reported at a high current density of 1000 mA g−1, which posites for use as anodes in Li-ion batteries (Figure 12).[557]
is much higher than that for free MoS2 and graphene.[490] The synthetic scheme used is illustrated in Figure 12a, which
Similarly, the same group also prepared single-layer MoS2/ shows that Ni3S4 nanoparticles were anchored by the func-
graphene composites dispersed in amorphous carbon.[556] It tional groups on the graphene sheet surface. Further annealing
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Review
Figure 11. a,b) Self-assembled SnO2–FGS nanocomposites: a) Side-view of freestanding film. b) Cross-sectional SEM of the layered structure. c) TEM
image indicating of layered structure of the hybrid. d) Dark field image showing well-dispersed SnO2 nanoparticles. e) Cross-sectional dark field image
showing both SnO2 nanoparticles and layered structure; f,g) High-resolution TEM image of the SnO2–FGS layers with clear marking of both the mate-
rials. h) Li-ion cell configuration using freestanding SnO2–FGS film as anode. i) Cycling life of the cell at 0.01 A g−1 (top) and rate capability (bottom).
Reproduced with permission.[68] Copyright 2010, American Chemical Society.
at high temperature showed to increase the electrochemical 150 cycles.[558] In another study, Si nanoparticles were wrapped
coupling between graphene and Ni3S4 nanoparticles. by crumpled graphene using a capillary technique giving rise to
Figure 12b,c shows that these materials can deliver high revers- capsule architectures. These Si-graphene capsules showed high
ible capacity, stable capacity retention, and excellent rate capa- capacity retention, good cyclic stability, and high columbic effi-
bility as a result of the synergetic effect of N-doped graphene ciencies compared to bare Si nanoparticles (NPs).[559]
and Ni3S4 nanoparticles.[557] Multilayered structures with alternating graphene and Si thin
Graphene/Transmission Metal Nitride Nanocomposite-Based films were also fabricated using liquid-phase exfoliated graphene
Anodes: Results reported by Yue et al. on the in situ synthesis of film and subsequent plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposi-
graphene/TiN hybrid showed that graphene/TiN hybrid anode tion (PECVD) coating of amorphous Si film (Figure 13a–c).[512]
delivered a high initial reversible capacity of about 646 mAh g−1 The multilayered nanocomposite films (Figure 13a) fabricated
at 20 mA g−1 with the initial coulomb efficiency of 75%.[503] At a directly on copper foil showed four times higher than the capac-
current density of 2000 mA g−1, the hybrid anode still retained a ities of graphite even after 30 cycles (Figure 13c).[512] A Si/gra-
high capacity of more than 320 mAh g−1.[503] The G/TiN hybrids phene nanocomposite, with nano-Si particles tightly wrapped
displayed superior electrochemical performance as a result of and connected by graphene nanosheets, was synthesized using
the highly efficient mixed (electron and Li+) conducting net- discharge-plasma-assisted milling (P-milling). When used as
work. The internal defects between graphene layers, induced Li-ion battery anodes, the nanocomposite with 50 wt% Si deliv-
by N-doping in graphene/TiN, led to improved reversible Li ered a discharge capacity of 866 mAh g−1 with a coulombic
storage. The catalytic sites on the surface of graphene, that efficiency above 99.0% even after 200 cycles. The capacity loss
are related to the decomposition of electrolyte, were occupied above 200 cycles was only ≈0.07% per cycle. In addition, this
by TiN, leading to a decreased irreversible capacity. AC imped- anode was coupled with a LiMn2O4 cathode to assemble a full
ance also confirmed that both the solid electrolyte interface and coin-type cell, which could cycle with stable capacities at prac-
charge-transfer resistance were decreased after the anchoring tical working voltages between 3.2 and 4.2 V, indicating that
of TiN nanoparticles.[503] these nanocompsoites are very promising for use in practical
Graphene/Si Nanocomposite-Based Anodes: Si is another applications.[560]
promising anode material for rechargeable Li-ion batteries, Recently, Son and co-workers directly grew graphene
but it suffers from significant capacity loss due to a 400% over Si NPs. The graphene layers anchored onto the Si sur-
volume expansion. To overcome this problem, a 3D graphene face accommodated the volume expansion of Si via a sliding
scaffold/Si nanocomposite has been designed with a revers- process between adjacent graphene layers. When paired with
ible capacity of about 3200 and 1100 mAh g−1 at 1 and 8 A g−1. a commercial LiCoO2 cathode, the Si/graphene nanocomposite
This architecture retained 99.9% of the capacity for over allowed the full cell to reach volumetric energy densities of 972
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Review
Figure 12. a) A schematic diagram illustrating the preparation of the Ni3S4/N-doped graphene nanocomposites. b) Charge–discharge curves of
Ni3S4/N-doped graphene nanocomposite anodes at 0.2C in the range of 0–3 V. c) Cycle performance of Ni3S4/ N-doped graphene nanocomposite
anodes at different C rates. Reproduced with permission.[557] Copyright 2013, Wiley.
and 700 Wh L−1 at first and 200th cycles, respectively, which (>1000 mAh g−1 at 14 A g−1), excellent power capability and
are 1.8 and 1.5 times higher than those of current commercial extraordinary cycling stability for more than 1000 cycles were
Li-ion batteries.[561] A 3D mesoporous Si@graphene nanocom- achieved (Figure 14b–d).[563]
posites was also synthesized and used as anodes for Li-ion bat- Si has a volume expansion of 300%–400%, which can lead
teries.[562] These materials exhibited superior electrochemical to the development of residual stress/strain at the interface and
performance including a high specific capacity of 1200 mAh g−1 eventually contact problems with graphene. The high volume
at 1 A g−1, excellent high rate capabilities, and outstanding change can also lead to continuous formation/degradation of
cyclability. The synergistic effects arising from the combination the SEI layer, which can cause the solvent in the electrolyte to
of mesoporous Si nanospheres and graphene foam nanoarchi- be totally consumed before the materials start degrading. These
tectures can prevent the intractable pulverization of Si electrode are some of the challenges that still need to be addressed for
after repeated charge/discharge cycles.[562] these graphene/Si-based nanocomposites.
More recently, the more excellent performance of gra- Graphene/Sn Nanocomposite-Based Anodes: Sn is another
phene/Si-based nanocomposites for Li-ion battery anodes important and promising anode materials for Li-ion batteries
was also reported by Cho and co-workers (Figure 14).[563] In with high theoretical capacity (≈1000 mAh g−1) owing to the
this novel design, island-shaped amorphous Si nanoparticles Li alloy formation. Similar to Si, the practical application of
with <10 nm size were strongly anchored and well distributed Sn-based anodes is hampered by its poor cyclability because
over the entire graphene backbone (a-SBG). The Si nanoparti- of the huge volume changes. The incorporation of graphene
cels effectively relieved the induced strain and stress and pre- can effectively accommodate the volume change of Sn and
vented the interference between adjacent particles during the thus improve its cycling performance. Recently, Ji et al. fab-
volume expansion due to the existence of the graphene phase ricated graphene/Sn-nanopillar multilayered anodes for
in the nanocomposite. In addition, the highly flexible gra- Li-ion batteries (Figure 13b).[519] The rationale for this sand-
phene yielded a synergetic elastic behavior and provided an wich design was to provide ample spaces to accommodate
unprecedented decrease in electrode thickness after cycling as Sn volume changes during continued alloying/dealloying
a result of self-compacting (Figure 14a).[563] Hence, the novel processes and to enhance Li-ion insertion by allowing easy
nanocomposite-based electrodes exhibited outstanding merits electrolyte penetration and hence, reducing internal resist-
in mitigating the detrimental effects of the Si volume changes ance. High electrical conductivity of both graphene and Sn
and improving electronic conductivity, charge transfer and along with distinctive structures offer fast reaction kinetics
Li-ion diffusion. As a result, a high specific reversible capacity and short diffusion pathways for efficient Li+ and e− transfers.
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Review
Figure 13. a,b) The morphology of cross-sectional SEM images of: a) Multilayered graphene/Si, and b) Graphene/Sn-nanopillar/graphene multi-
layer nanostructure. c,d) The corresponding galvanostatic charge/discharge profiles of: c) Five-layer graphene/Si multilayer structures at 100 mA g−1
current density between 2.8 V to 0.002 V, and d) Graphene/Sn nanopillars structures at 50 mA g−1 current density between 3.0 V to 0.002 V. Panels
a,c) reproduced with permission.[512] Copyright 2012, Elsevier. Panel b,d) reproduced with permission.[519] Copyright 2011, Royal Society of Chemistry.
The use of polymer binders and conductive additives can also Graphene/Ge, Sb, P Nanocomposite-Based Anodes: In addi-
be avoided in these integrated electrodes, which improve the tion to Si and Sn, other alloying–dealloying reaction mech-
overall energy density of the batteries (Figure 13d). Wang and anism-based elements such as Ge,[570–572] Sb,[573,574] P,[525]
co-workers synthesized a novel Sn nanoparticle-decorated 3D have also been combined with graphene to fabricate novel
foothill-like graphene architecture as Li-ion battery anode.[564] graphene-based nanocomposite-based anodes with improved
Electrochemical measurements demonstrated that the 3D Sn– performance for Li-ion batteries. The graphene phase can
graphene anode delivered a reversible capacity of 466 mAh g−1 effectively accommodate the volume expansion of these inor-
at a current density of 879 mA g−1 after over 4000 cycles ganic nanomaterials, leading to markedly improved cycle
and 794 mAh g−1 at a current density of 293 mA g−1 after performance and rate capability. For example, a first dis-
400 cycles. The capacity at a current density of 293 mA g−1 charge capacity of 1034 mA g−1 was obtained for graphene-/
was 200% higher than that of conventional graphite anodes, Sb-based nanocomposites.[573] A designed Ge/graphene/CNT
suggesting that the 3D Sn–graphene structure enabled a sig- composite electrode exhibited outstanding energy capacity
nificant improvement in the overall performance of a Li-ion up to 863.8 mAh g−1 at a current density of 100 mA g−1 after
battery in terms of capacity, cycle life, and rate capacity.[564] 100 cycles and good rate performance at a current density up
Similarly, Qin et al. investigated Sn@graphene core–shell to 3200 mA g−1.[575] A carbon-coated Ge nanoparticles/rGO
structures for Li-ion batteries anodes. This 3D hybrid anode sandwich structures exhibited superior performance with a
exhibited very high rate performance (1022 mAh g−1 at 0.2C, capacity of 1332 mAh g−1 at 0.2C and with a high-rate capa-
780 mAh g−1 at 1C, 459 mAh g−1 at 5C, and 270 mAh g−1 bility over hundreds of cycles.[571] A red P-graphene nanosheet
at 10C where 1C = 1 A g−1) and extremely long cycling sta- hybrid anode material for Li-ion batteries delivered a high
bility even at high rates (a high capacity of 682 mAh g−1 gravimetric specific capacity of 2362 mAh g−1, based on mass
was achieved at 2C with a capacity retention of 96.3% after of P, and excellent capacity retention within 300 cycles.[525]
1000 cycles).[565] Other various novel structures, including Sn-
based nanoparticles encapsulated in a porous 3D graphene
network,[566] 3D hollow Sn@C-graphene hybrids,[567] hierar- 4.2. Cathodes
chical Sn@ foam-like graphene composite,[568] and graphene-
Sn/SnO2-based nanocomposites,[569] etc., have also been Commercially available Li-ion battery cathodes are almost
reported to show improved electrochemical performance due exclusively limited to “lithiated transition metal oxides” such
to compensating for the volume expansion of graphene phase as LiCoO2, LiNiO2, LiMn2O4, mixed metal oxides with spinel
during long-term cycling. structure and polyanion materials with olivine structure such
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Review
Figure 14. a) A Schematic diagram of amorphous Si nanoparticles backbonded-graphene (a-SBG) nanocomposite anode before and after electro-
chemical cycling. b) Galvanostatic charge/discharge profiles of a-SBG and crystalline Si nanopowder (c-SiNP) electrodes at a current density of 56 mA g−1
in the potential range of 1.5–0.01 V. c) Typical Capacities of a-SBG and c-SiNP anodes at various charge current densities from 0.56 to 28 A g−1 for
a-SBG and from 0.4 to 20 A g−1 for c-SiNP, respectively. d) Cycling performance of the a-SBG nanocomposite electrode at a charge current density of
14 A g−1 and a discharge density of 2.8 A g−1 over 1000 cycles. Reproduced with permission.[563] Copyright 2014, American Chemical Society.
as LiFePO4 and V2O5.[576–581] The practical limitations of these average particle sizes through co-precipitation, which deliv-
cathodes are their slow process kinetics due to slow Li-ion and ered a specific capacity of 160 mAh g−1 at 0.2C and improved
electron diffusion and severe structural degradation during cycling stability.[587] Graphene/LiFePO4 nanocomposites were
continuous charge/discharge processes. Hence, a considerable synthesized via spray-drying in which LiFePO4 primary nano-
attention has been focused on graphene-based conductive and particles were embedded in spherical micron-sized secondary
flexible nanocomposites to alleviate the stress/strain, improve particles with homogeneous graphene wrapping giving rise
the electrical conductivity and preserve material integrity.[582,583] to 3D networks. This architecture facilitates electron diffusion
Graphene has been widely used to improve the electrochem- throughout the secondary particles, while Li-ions occupy the
cial properties of LiFePO4 cathode for Li-ion batteries.[584–586] abundant voids between LiFePO4 nanoparticles and graphene
For example, graphene nanosheets were used as additives to sheets. As a result, the nanocomposites showed a capacity
prepare spherical LiFePO4/graphene composites with ≈100 nm of 70 mAh g−1 even at 60C discharge rate. When cycled at
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10C charge and 20C discharge rates for

Review
1000 cycles, the capacity decay was only

≈15%.[588] Nanosized LiMn2O4 spinel/rGO
hybrid cathode was also synthesized via a
microwave-assisted hydrothermal reaction
with nanosized LiMn2O4 particles evenly dis-
persed on rGO template without agglomera-
tion. The inherent high active surface area of
LiMn2O4 nanoparticles in the hybrid cathode
to play a vital role in faster Li-ion diffusion as
was reported based on the CV data.[589]
In a work reported by Wang et al., single-
crystal LiMn0.75Fe0.25PO4 nanorods@
rGO nanocomposites were synthesized
through hydrothermal reactions with
a LiMn0.75Fe0.25PO4 nanorod length of
50–100 nm and dia meter of 20–30 nm
(Figure 15a,b).[66] These LiMn0.75Fe0.25PO4@
rGO nanocomposites exhibited excellent
capacity retention for more than 100 cycles
at 0.5C (Figure 15c). In addition, these mate-
rials displayed high reversible capacities of
about 153, 132, 107, 65 mAh g−1 even at high
discharge rates of 2C, 20C, 50C, and 100C,
respectively, indicating excellent rate capa-
bility (Figure 15d). Figure 15. a) TEM image, and b) HRTEM image of the LiMn0.75Fe0.25PO4 nanorods on rGO.
−1
Similarly, graphene/LiMn2O4,[590–592] graphene/ c) Cycle performance at 0.5C rate (1C = 170 mA g ), and d) Rate capability of LiMn0.75Fe0.25PO4-
LiMnPO4, [593–595] graphene/Li3V2(PO4)3, [596–598] rGO nanocomposite-based cathodes in Li-ion batteries. Reproduced with permission.[66] Copy-
[599] right 2011, Wiley.
graphene/Li3T2(PO4)3, graphene/
Li2FeSiO4,[600–603] graphene/Li2MnSiO4,[604–606]
graphene/V2O5,[607,608] graphene/FePO4,[609,610] graphene/ design goal is to use low graphene amounts to minimize the
FeF3,[611–613] and graphene/LiNi1/3Co1/3Mn1/3O2[614] have been problems mentioned above. In addition, architectures where
explored as possible cathodes for rechargeable Li-ion bat- graphene is not exposed to the electrolyte can be developed to
teries. For instance, FeF3/graphene composites delivered a prevent these problems but this requires significant efforts in
charge capacity of 155, 113, and 73 mAh g−1 at 104, 502, and terms of synthesis.
1040 mA g−1current density, with stable cyclability for over 100 Polymer/graphene nanocomposites have attracted great
cycles, which was attributed to the buffering effect and lowered interest as cathode materials since polymers are sustainable,
resistance from the graphene.[615] environmentally benign (“green” cathodes), have inherently
Liu et al. prepared a novel composite of 1D single-crystalline faster kinetics and an electrochemically stable backbone,
V2O5 nanowires/graphene nanocomposites through a green and can be paired with electrochemically active functional
approach as described in Figure 16a.[608] In such a hybrid struc- groups.[60,616,617] Specifically, researchers have focused on
ture, the simultaneous assembly of V2O5 nanowires can helped poly(anthraquinonyl sulfide) and polyimide composites with
prevent the restacking of graphene layer. While the presence graphene using in situ polymerization.[60] The homogeneous
of graphene with a high electrical conductivity is beneficial to dispersion of graphene sheets in the polymer matrix is evi-
the electron transport, in that, once the electrons reach the gra- dent in Figure 17a,b,[60] and their ultrafast charge/discharge
phene, they can quickly access the V2O5 nanowire active mate- kinetics of up to 100C with a capacity retention of 100 mAh g−1
rials (Figure 16b).[608] Because of these unique properties, these is evident in Figure 17c,d.[60] However, polymer-based cathodes
assembled nanostructure hybrids exhibited excellent perfor- suffer from two major problems: (i) The inherent low specific
mance as Li-ion battery cathodes. capacity which will be even lower on mixing with graphene;
It should be mentioned here that although the use of gra- and (ii) the low electrode potential (compared to traditional
phene enhances the electrochemical properties of Li-ion battery inorganic cathodes). These problems reduce the overall elec-
systems, the rates are still limited to mobile applications and trochemical performance the batteries (e.g., specific energy,
require further advances for vehicular applications. Moreover, energy density, and power density), limiting their practical
the synthesis of these nanocomposites does require unique applications.
processing techniques and significant graphene percentages, Current Li-ion batteries using graphene or graphene-based
which drive up the cost of fabrication. The challenges that need nanocomposites as electrodes still operate on traditional fara-
to be addressed here are the large electrolyte uptake resulting daic reactions with higher energy density than supercapacitors
from the graphene porosity and the first cycle reversible but suffer from slow solid-state Li diffusion, leading to limited
capacity losses caused by the SEI formation. The primary power density. Hence, a novel material and/or electrode design
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Review
Figure 16. a) An illustration of the synthesis routes of V2O5–graphene nanocomposites. b) The ideal electron transfer pathway for V2O5–graphene
nanocomposite-based cathodes in Li-ion batteries. Reproduced with permission.[608] Copyright 2011, Royal Society of Chemistry.
that can be a hybrid of both supercapacitors and Li-ion bat- LiFePO4 (LFP) loaded into the 3D graphene foam as the
teries should be helpful in attaining both high energy and anode (LTP/GF) (Figure 19b,c) and cathode (LFP/GF), respec-
power density.[541,618–621] In this regard, Jang et al. reported tively.[623] The full cells were flexible with high capacity reten-
a novel strategy to design hybrid devices in which graphene tions for up to 10C for 100 cycles (Figure 19d). Similarly, the
modified electrode surfaces directly contact with electrolyte half cells retain high capacities up to 200C for 500 cycles
and can rapidly and reversibly capture Li ions through sur- (Figure 19e).[623] These architectures with high conductivity,
face adsorption and/or surface redox reactions.[622] These flexibility, porosity and low weight hold great promise for the
devices based on randomly selected materials and configura- commercialization of flexible Li-ion batteries with high power
tions, delivered a high energy density of 160 Wh kg−1per cell density.
(30 times higher than traditional supercapacitors) and an excel- Li-ion batteries are now leading the portable electronics
lent power density of ≈100 kW kg−1 per cell, ≈100 times higher market. However, they face an uphill task in storing sufficient
than Li-ion batteries (Figure 18),[622] indicating that this new energy specifically for the extended driving range required by
design can combine the advantages of both Li-ion batteries and electric vehicles. Therefore, it is necessary to find alternative
supercapacitors. The further modifications of this novel design energy storage systems with higher energy/power density,
may lead to graphene-based hybrid energy storage devices for which brings up Li-S and Li-air batteries as viable options due
practical applications. to their high theoretical capacity, high specific energy, facile
Recently, flexible half and full cells were fabricated using handling/processing, and environmental benignity. However,
a 3D flexible, and conductive interconnected graphene foam theses batteries still face many challenges, which will be fur-
as the current collector (Figure 19a).[623] Li4Ti5O12 (LTP) and ther discussed in the following sections.
Figure 17. TEM images of: a) Poly(anthraquinonyl sulfide) (PAQS)–FGS, and b) Polyimide (PI)–FGS. The charge/discharge curves of: c) PAQS–FGS,
and d) PI–FGS, at various C-rates. Reproduced with permission.[60] Copyright 2012, American Chemical Society.
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Review
Figure 18. a) The cell structure with massive graphenes on both cathode and anode after the first discharge/charge processes. The graphene surfaces
in direct contact with liquid electrolyte are able to rapidly and reversibly capture Li-ions through surface adsorption and/or surface redox reaction,
leading to both high energy density (Li-ion batteries) and high power density (supercapacitor). b) Ragone plot of graphene surface-mediated cell. The
graphene is from chemically reduced GO. c,d) A schematic drawing of the internal structure of a treated carbon black particle with pores or gates
opened structure to provide accessibility to liquid electrolyte in such a manner that the functional groups attached to the edge or surface of graphene
sheet can readily reach with Li ions. Reproduced with permission.[622] Copyright 2011, American Chemical Society.
5. Li–S Batteries active materials: a Li metal anode (theoretical specific capacity:

3860 mAh g−1) and an elemental S cathode (theoretical specific
The high specific energy of the Li–S chemistry is the direct capacity: 1675 mAh g−1).[624–635] During the discharging process
result of combining two relatively light elements as the primary of the Li–S cell, the anodic reaction (at the negative electrode) is
Figure 19. a) Photograph of a freestanding flexible LTO/GF being bent. b) TEM image of the LTO/GF. c) HR-TEM image of an LTO nanosheet showing
lattice fringes with a spacing of 0.48 nm. d) Cyclic performance of a flexible LTO/GF//LFP/GF full cell charged/discharged at a constant 10C rate for
100 cycles; and e) Capacities of the LTO/GF charged/discharged at constant 30C and 100C rates for 500 cycles. Reproduced with permission.[623]
Copyright 2012, United States National Academy of Sciences.
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the oxidation of Li: Li → Li+ + e− (i), while the
Review
cathodic reaction (at the positive electrode)
is the reduction of S: S + 2e− → S2− (ii). The
overall cell reaction is 2Li + S → Li2S (iii).
However, elemental S exists as octasulfur (S8)
rings, which adopts a stable orthorhombic
crystal structure, so that equation (iii) is mod-
ified to: 16Li + S8 → 8Li2S (Figure 20).[636]
Assuming an equivalent amount of Li for
the negative electrode and S for the positive
electrode, a complete reaction of Li and S to
form Li2S with an average discharge poten-
tial of 2.2 V per cell. The theoretical spe-
cific energy and energy density for Li-S bat-
teries can be as high as 2600 Wh kg−1 and
2800 Wh L−1, respectively.[624–635] In addi- Figure 20. A typical discharge/charge voltage profile at the first cycle in a Li–S cell. Reproduced
tion, S is highly abundant, nontoxic, and with permission.[636] Copyright 2013, Elsevier.
environmentally benign.[624–635] Because of
these unique properties, Li–S batteries have
attracted significant attention. and accommodate S volume changes.[624–630,644–649] Ionic
However, the Li–S chemistry faces several major challenges liquid electrolytes, electrolyte additives and new binders have
(Figure 21),[637] which include:[638–643] (i) Elemental S is highly shown to reduce polysulfide dissolution.[627,642,650–657] The use
insulating, necessitating S to be supported on a conductive of nanostructured carbon (e.g., CNTs, graphene, CNFs, etc.)
skeleton to improve their utilizations. (ii) The intermediate and carbon-based nanocomposites in Li–S batteries has shown
polysulfide ions formed during the discharge/charge processes improvement in their electrochemical performance.[638,658–661]
are very easy to dissolve in the organic-solvent-based electro- Carbon-based nanomaterial such as graphene is a useful
lytes. These soluble polysulfide species can migrate from the nanoscale building block to produce composite materials with
cathode to Li anode through the battery separators where they element S. Recently, several groups have reported the use of
are reduced to the insoluble Li2S2/Li2S and low-ordered soluble graphene sheets to confine sulfur compounds for use in Li–S
polysulfides. Once there are concentrated on the Li anode side, batteries.[192,415,662,663] The ensuing sections discuss recent
the low-ordered polysulfides can diffuse back
to the cathode side and will be re-oxidized
into the original long-chain polysulfide spe-
cies with repeated discharge/charge cycles,
thus creating a so-called shuttle effect. The
shuttle mechanism has been directly impli-
cated as the cause for the loss of S following
the initial discharge, which is exacerbated in
subsequent discharge/charge cycles. Even-
tually, it results in low utilization of active
materials, poor Coulombic efficiency, rapid
capacity fading and degradation of the Li
anode. This polysulfide shuttle effect is con-
sidered one of the greatest challenges of the
Li–S battery; (iii) There are very large volume
changes of S during extended electrochemical
processes; and (iv) Current Li–S batteries still
use pure Li as anode. There are some side-
reactions between pure Li and dissolved poly-
sulfide intermediates and the pure Li always
experiences uneven deposition/stripping pro-
cesses during extended cycling which form Li
dendrites, inducing some safety issues.[624–635]
Hence, significant efforts have been
focused on the fabrication of S composites
with porous carbon and conducting polymers
to improve electrode conductivity, effectively Figure 21. An illustration of the effects of polysulfide dissolution, shuttle phenomenon, effect
adsorb soluble polysulfide intermediates on the cathode upon discharge/charge process in Li–S batteries. Reproduced with permis-
from dissolving into organic electrolytes, sion.[637] Copyright 2015, Royal Society of Chemistry.
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results reported in the literature on the use of graphene and etc.) doped graphene-S nanocomposites,[688–693] fabricating
Review
graphene-based nanocomposites in Li–S batteries. porous graphene-S nanocomposites,[663,694–704] and involving

a second conductive phase to construct 3D graphene-based
architectures.[705–710]
5.1. Graphene/S
Graphene can ideally trap S, restrict polysulfide dissolution 5.2. GO or rGO/S

and accommodate S volume change and hence, is of great
interest for Li–S batteries.[633,650,664–678] Cao et al. synthesized Establishing strong physical interaction or even chemical
FGS-S multilayered 3D sandwich architectures with uniform bonding between graphene and S can help improve the elec-
S distribution on graphene surface. This material delivered a trochemical performance of Li–S batteries, since these inter-
large reversible capacity of ≈505 mAh g−1 at a current density actions can trap S or polysulfide intermediates, decrease their
of 1C (1680 mA g−1). To reduce the polysulfide dissolution and dissolutions into the liquid electrolyte and minimize their
migration, the as-synthesized FGS-S composites was further migrations between cathode and anode.[229,650,685,711,712] Based
coated with a thin layer of cation exchange nafion film. These on this fact, GO would be a suitable starting point to be used
materials exhibited a much improved cycle performance with to immobilize S due to the ample functional groups on the
79.4% capacity retention for 50 cycles at a 0.1C rate, excellent surfaces.[229,650,685,711,712]
rate performance for up to 1C and capacity retention over 100 In Ji and co-workers’s study, the authors incorporated nano-S
cycles.[679] into GO by chemical reaction in a microemulsion system
Similarly, Wang and co-workers coated S particles with (Figure 22a,b).[650,711] The heat treatment of the as-synthesized
poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), then wrapped it by graphene deco- samples at low temperatures (155 °C) led to the removal of
rated with extra carbon black,[665] wherein, both graphene and exposed unencapsulated S on GO. The GO with its large sur-
PEG accommodate S volume changes, improve conductivity and face area and ubiquitous cavities can have intimate contact with
restrict polysulfide dissolution. This structure was able to trap S to prevent its aggregation and improve the electrical contact.
soluble polysulfides in the matrix, while allowing S particles to In addition, heat-treated GO has hydrophilic groups that can
conduct electrical charge. As a result, the graphene-wrapped S strongly adsorb elemental S as well as polysulfides during dis-
particles delivered a high specific capacity of 750 mAh g−1 with charge/charge processes (Figure 22c).[650] These nanostructured
a relatively stable capacity for about 140 cycles. materials showed specific capacities of ≈950 mAh g−1 at 0.1C
In another vein, S-impregnated graphene composites were rate for up to 50 cycles (Figure 22d).[650]
also synthesized via heterogeneous crystal growth,[680] wet Similar methods have been adopted to synthesize graphene–
chemical oxidation,[681] impregnation,[682] and others.[683,684] It S nanocomposite cathodes with promising electrochemical
is also expected that optimizing the size and morphology of performance.[227,231] Li et al. fabricated thermally exfoliated
the S particles could help further improve the performance. graphene nanosheet/S nanocomposites, then used rGOs
Based on this concept, uniform graphene/S composite-based to further coat the as-prepared nanocomposites.[667] These
cathodes were fabricated, which delivered a high reversible rGO/graphene@S nanocomposite cathode showed a high capa-
capacity of more than 800 mAh g−1 after 80 cycles.[671] The high bility to restrain the diffusion of immediate polysulfides while
dispersion of the S on the graphene remarkably enhanced its delivering a large capacity at a high rate of 3.8C.[667]
utilization, while the unique 2D structure of graphene phase Recently, Wang and co-workers reported a facile approach
significantly facilitated the Li-ion and electron transports, thus to synthesize high-performance graphene/S cathodes by cova-
improved the redox kinetics.[671] In addition, Park et al. dem- lently stabilizing the S and polysulfide intermediates on ethyl-
onstrated that HF-treated graphene could provide active nano- enediamine (EDA)-functionalized rGO (EFG) (Figure 23).[687]
pores for the controlled nucleation of S particles in an aqueous The unique molecular structure of EDA with high reac-
solution.[680] Zhang and co-workers adopted an oil–water tivity can help crosslink polar Li polysulfides and nonpolar
system to fabricate saccule-like graphene/S nanocomposites. carbon (Figure 23b,c). The use of DFT calculations has veri-
These novel synthetic strategies successfully produced size- fied strong affinity of Li polysulfides to EFG (Figure 23d–f).
controlled S particles and yielded unique graphene/S nano- The strongly covalent stabilization of S and the polysulfides
composite cathodes with high electrochemical performance for on EFG enabled a stable capacity retention of 80% for 350
Li–S batteries.[666] cycles along with high reversible capacities and excellent rate
Nevertheless, the problem with this architecture is the slow performance (Figure 23g–i).[687] The authors reported that
diffusion of Li-ion since it has to diffuse through multiple this two-electron-donating amine groups on the carbon ali-
layers. Although these approaches show promise, the rate capa- phatic spacer covalently joined polar Li polysulfide and non-
bility of these synthesized materials is limited and an obvious polar carbon surface together, which prevents the loss of S
concern is the huge loss in capacity during cycling. active mass and promotes electrical contact.[687] In addition,
As a typical 2D material, graphene itself is not considered the electron-donating effect of amine functional moieties
as an effective substrate material to effectively confine S and could enhance the reactivity of aromatic carbon rings for S
polysulfide intermediates due to its intrinsic geometrical char- loading and favor the immobilization of S by complexation
acteristics.[685–687] Hence, pure graphene cannot be directly used with them.[687] In another study, layers of amorphous S were
as cathode for Li–S batteries. Further performance improve- tightly anchored on the graphene sheet via strong chemical
ment can be obtained using heteroatoms (e.g. O, N, B, P, bonding.[685] When employed as a cathode material in Li–S
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Review
Figure 22. a) SEM and b) TEM images of thermally treated GO–S nanocomposites. c) The K-edge XAS spectra of pure GO and GO–S nanocomposites.
d) The corresponding cycling performance at a constant current rate of 0.1C after initial activation processes at 0.02C for two cycles. Reproduced with
batteries, the as-synthesized composite delivered a high Recently, N-doped graphene/S has been intruduced as a
initial capacity of 1047 mAh g−1 and stable capacity retention potential cathode for Li–S batteries.[717] Wang et al. reported
for more than 70 cycles at 0.5C.[685] work on the use of a porous 3D N-doped graphene for S
cathodes (88% S loading), which delivered specific dis-
charge capacity of about 800 mAh g−1 and stable capacity
5.3. Heteroatom-Doped Graphene/S of 600 mAh g−1 after 145 cycles.[717] The N-doped graphene
can facilite fast Li-ion transmission and simultaneously trap
Although these strategies showed promises and consistently polysulfide and the porous 3D structures can accommodate
contributed to trapping intermediate polysulfides and par- the volume change while allowing electrolyte penetration,
tially reduce degradation of S cathode with substantial and contributing to the electrochemical performance improve-
encouraging advances, these approaches are fundamentally ment.[717] Similarly, Zhang and co-workers prepared a carbon
insufficient to suppress the polysulfide shuttle effect, which black-free N-doped graphene wrapped S cathode for Li–S
is considered as one of the major challenges of Li–S batteries. batteries, which delivered high specific discharge capacities
It was reported that N-doped carbon exhibits a strong chem- even at high rates.[692] Most importantly, the cells demonstra-
isorption for polysulfides and Li2S, and the electronegative N teed an ultralong cycle life for more than 2000 cycles with
atoms in the carbon matrix are particularly effective in forming an extremely low-capacity-decay rate.[692] The X-ray spectro-
LixS••••N interactions via the lone-air electrons of N because scopic analysis and ab initio calculation results indicated
of the strong interaction due to Lewis acid-based interaction that the excellent performance was attributed to the well-
between Li-ion cations in Li2Sx and N atoms in the carbon restored C C lattice and the unique Li polysulfide binding
matrix.[692,713–715] Alternatively, B atoms, as an electron-defi- capability of the N-based functional groups in the graphene
cient alternative to N atoms, are electropositive in the carbon sheets.[692] Highly crumpled N-doped graphene/S nanocom-
framework, thus leading to the chemisorption of polysulfide posites were also fabricated.[693] The unique pore structure
anions.[691,713] Accordingly, it was reported recently that a and N-doping induced strong polysulfide adsorption ability,
B-doped carbon host can also improve the performance of com- Li–S battery cells using these wrinkled graphene sheets as
posite cathodes. Aside N and B, P, and S doped carbon have also both S host and interlayer achieved a high capacity of about
been reported to be used for the fabrication of novel carbon/S 1000 mAh g−1 and exceptional cycling stability even at high S
nanocomposites for Li–S battery cathodes with enhanced elec- content (≥80 wt%) and S loading (5 mg cm−2), which is higher
trochemical performance.[716] compared to other recently developed sulfur cathodes and is
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Review
Figure 23. a) SEM of EFG–S nanocomposite. b,c) XPS analysis of EFG–S. d–f) DFT calculation showing the interaction between Li2S cluster and
graphene or EFG, models of C, H, N, S, and Li elements displayed as spheres in gray, white, blue, yellow, and pink, respectively. g) Discharge/charge
voltage profiles at different cycles of EFG–S nanocomposite (60 wt% S). h) Long-term cyclability of EFG–S nanocomposite (60 and 69 wt% S) and
rGO–S composite (47 wt% S). All these tests are conducted at 0.5C between 1.5 and 3.0 V. i) Rate capabilities of EFG–S and rGO–S nanocomposites
at various current rates between 1.5 to 3.0 V. Reproduced with permission.[687] Copyright 2014, Nature Publishing Group.
ideal for practical applications.[693] In addition to N-doped and satisfactory cycling stability, which are better than those
graphene, 3D B-doped graphene aerogel/S nanocomposite of the single N- or P-doped graphene.[689] More recently,
was also reported where the results showed a higher capacity Manthiram and co-workers presented an effective strategy
of 994 mAh g–1 at 0.2C after 100 cycles withan outstanding to obtain Li/polysulphide batteries with high energy density
rate capability.[691] Yuan and co-workers presented a strategy and long-cyclic life using 3D N,S co-doped graphene sponge
to chemically bind S and its discharge products with a gra- electrodes (Figure 24a,b).[718] The N,S co-doped graphene
phene-supported N/B co-doped carbon layer and employed it sponge electrode provided enough space for a high S loading,
as the host to prepare the C/S composite cathode for Li–S facilitated fast charge transfer and better immobilization of
batteries.[713] Due to the high conductivity and strong chem- polysulfide ions (Figure 24c).[718] The heteroatom-doped sites
ical bindings of N and B groups to Li polysulfides, the as-pre- demonstrated a strong binding energy and were capable of
pared electrodes with a 70 wt% S content display an ultralong anchoring polysulfides based on the first-principles calcula-
cycling performance of more than 1500 cycles with a low tions. As a result, high specific capacity of 1200 mAh g−1 at
decay rate of 0.035% per cycle at the rate of 2C and a high 0.2C rate, high-rate capacity of 430 mAh g−1 at 2C rate and
rate performance up to 3C.[713] Similarly, Gu and co-workers excellent cycling stability for 500 cycles with 0.078% capacity
reported a conductive and porous N and P dual doped decay per cycle were achieved (Figure 24d–f).[718]
graphene layer/S nanocomposites.[689] The electrochemical These promising results suggest that the synergetic com-
evaluation results showed that the N and P dual doped gra- bination of conductive and adsorptive confinement strategies
phene layer/S electrodes can deliver a superior initial capacity induced by the multiheteroatom doping scheme is a promising
of more than 1158 mAh g−1 at 1C, excellent rate capability, approach for developing high performance Li–S batteries.[689]
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Review
Figure 24. a) A lightweight N,S-co-doped graphene sponge standing on a dandelion. b) Illustration of the formation process of the N,S-co-doped
graphene electrode and the fabrication of a Li/dissolved polysulfide cell with N,S-co-doped graphene electrode. c) Nyquist plots of the rGO, N-doped
graphene, S-doped graphene, and N,S-co-doped graphene electrodes before cycling from 1 to 100 MHz at room temperature. d) The second galva-
nostatic discharge/charge profiles of the rGO, N-doped graphene, S-doped graphene, and N,S-co-doped graphene electrodes at 0.2C rate between
1.5 V and 2.8 V. e) Cycling performance of the Li polysulfide batteries with the rGO, N-doped graphene, S-doped graphene and N,S-co-doped graphene
electrodes at 0.2C rate between 1.5 V and 2.8 V. f) Rate performance of the rGO, N-doped graphene, S-doped graphene, and N,S-co-doped graphene
electrodes at different current rates and long-term cycle stability of the corresponding electrode at 0.5C for 500 cycles after 30 cycles at different current
rates between 1.5 and 2.8 V. Reproduced with permission.[718] Copyright 2015, Nature Publishing Group.
Doping of heteroatoms into graphene not only changes the polysulfides.[719] The S2O32− species were important to the
electronic distribution but also creates surface functional retention of Li polysulfides within the positive electrode upon
groups. These changes enhanced the chemical adsorption of cycling. They may anchor “higher-order” Sx2− polysulfides
carbon to polysulfide species, and have been intensively inves- (x ≥ 4) by further catenating them into the S S bond in
tigated to sequestrate soluble polysulfide intermediates in Li–S [O3S-S]2− (thiosulfate) to create intermediate surface-bound
batteries.[716] polythionate complexes [O3S2–(S)x– 2–S2O3], and converting
them to insoluble “lower” polysulfide.[719] The polythionate
complex formed on the surface is thus best described as a
5.4. Graphene@Transition Metal Oxide/S transfer mediator.[719] This process curtailed the active mass
loss during the discharge/charge process and suppressed the
In a recent work by Nazar and co-workers, the authors polysulfide shuttle to result in high-performance cathodes
reported the use MnO2/graphene nanosheets as a cathode with high S loading, capable of high-capacity retention after
host to improve the performance of Li-S batteries.[719] The long time cycling up to 2000 cycles.[719] A follow-up compre-
results showed that instead of the presence of a chemical hensive study by the same group on the ability of various
interaction with surface affinity between the host materials transition metal oxides/graphene nanocomposites to chemi-
(MnO2) and Li polysulfides as existing in GO (or rGO)/S, cally adsorb polysulfides showed that the interactions were
doped (N, B, S, P, etc.) graphene/S nanocomposites, the directly correlated to the redox potentials of transition metal
thiosulfate species (S2O32−) were generated in situ on oxides.[720] Metal oxides with a redox potential that lies below
the surface of MnO2 through the redox reaction with Li ≈1.5 V (such as Co3O4, or Ti4O7) show no redox reaction with
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Li polysulfides, and only strong beneficial

Review
surface polar and/or acid site interactions

that mitigate polysulfides dissolutions.[720]
Those with a redox potential in a target
window (2.4 V < E ≤ 3.05 V) such as VO2/
graphene (2.79 V) and CuO/grahene can
oxidize polysulfides to form thiosulfate/
polythionate groups chemically bound
to the reduced metal oxide surface (sim-
ilar to that reported for graphene/MnO2 Figure 25. Schematic illustration of entrapment of S in hierarchical porous graphene support
for Li–S batteries during the discharging/charging process. Reproduced with permission.[694]
nanosheets (3.05 V)).[720] On the other Copyright 2013, Elsevier.
hand, metal oxides with a high redox poten-
tial (>3.05 V), such as V2O5/graphene and
NiOOH/graphene can oxidize polysulfides to a mixture of 5.6. 3D Porous Graphene (or rGO) Sponge/S
sulfate and thiosulfate. This can repetitively oxidize poly-
sulfides to electrochemically inactive sulfate groups, hence Although porous graphene can help further improve the elec-
leading to a poor cycling performance as a result of the high trochemical performance in Li–S batteries, the stacking of
redox potential (3.4 V) of these metal oxides.[720] This new graphene is still not easily prevented, and the conductivity
outcome would allow for the design of Li–S batteries with a of chemically derived graphene materials decreases as more
long cycle life by using new graphene-based nanocomposites defects are introduced. The existence of curvatures and wrin-
with suitable redox potentials to form surface bound thiosul- kles on graphene can prevent the stacking of graphene to a
fate/polythionate mediators. certain extent and make the single-layer graphene thermally
stable, but their presence is not sufficient to fully prevent the
stacking. Fabrication of controllable 3D nanostructure and con-
5.5. Porous Graphene (or rGO)/S ductive scaffolds, as well as adding a second conductive phase
to construct robust 3D frameworks may help avoid the stacking
A key performance index for graphene/S electrode lies in the of graphene sheets, provide a 3D conductive network, reduce
fabrication of a well-designed nanostructure, in which the gra- electron-transfer resistance, and further improve the electro-
phene framework acts not only as an electronic conduit for the chemical performance in Li–S batteries.[723–725]
encapsulated S but also have enough free space for the contin- The design of 3D graphene sponge/S structure produced
uous electrochemical reaction.[721] Such entrapment ensures a a cathode with good electrochemical stability and high rate
more complete redox process and results in an enhanced utiliza- discharge capacity retention for up to 160 discharge/charge
tion of S. From this point, the nanocomposites with S entrapped cycles at a high rate of 1C.[726] The most recently prepared
into different types of porous graphene can help further improve 3D hierarchically interconnected porous graphene/S nano-
the electrochemical perforance in Li–S batteries.[663,694–704] composites delivered a high initial specific discharge capacity
In one of these types of research, chemically activated rGO of 914 mAh g−1 and a specific capacity of 486 mAh g−1 after
hydrogel has been used to uniformly confine elemental S in 500 cycles at 1C. In addition, a high specific capacity of 467 and
its nanopores with the aim to fabricate porous rGO–S nano- 162 mAh g−1was obtained at a high rate of 10C with a Coulombic
composites.[695] Large pore volume and controlled nanopore efficiency of over 90.0% at the first and 500th cycle, respec-
size and distribution resulted in a high reversible capacity of tively.[727] Lu and co-workers reported an approach to assemble
−1
up to 1379 mAh g at 0.2C with excellent cycling stability for S/graphene sponge composites with S uniformly distributed
more than 50 cycles. Huang et al. fabricated hierarchical porous into the pores of graphene sponge and directly used them as
graphene–S nanocomposites with epoxyl and hydroxyl groups cathodes for Li–S batteries.[728] This 3D architecture electrode
on the surface of graphene to enhance S binding.[694] In these delivered high areal specific capacity and high retention ratio
nanostructures, graphene can also serve as a mini chamber for even at a large areal mass loading of ≈12 mg S cm−2, approxi-
electrochemical reactions (Figure 25). [694] As a result, this novel mately 6 to 12 times higher than that of most reports, with a
nanostructured electrode can lead to a high discharge capacity slow decay rate at 0.1C (0.08% per cycle after 300 cycles).[728]
of 1068 and 543 mAh g−1 at current densities of 0.5 and 10C, In addition to the aforementioned 3D graphene/S design,
respectively. Hierarchically micro/mesoporous activated gra- other different type of 3D graphene sponge/S based electrode
phene with high surface area (up to 3000 m2 g−1) and large for Li–S batteries with promising electrochemical performance
pore volume (up to 2.14 cm3 g−1) was also utilized as a superior were also reported.[723–725]
carbon host material with high S loading for advanced Li–S bat- In another study, the fabrication of graphene-based 3D
teries.[722] Freestanding hierarchically porous graphene-encap- hierarchical S cathodes through adding a second conductive
sulated S showed high rate capability (a reversible capacity of phase has become a new strategy to tackle the intrinsic prob-
1017 mAh g−1, 865 mAh g−1, and 726 mAh g−1 at 0.2C, 0.5C, lems in Li–S batteries.[640] For instance, Li–S cells with high
and 1C, respectively) and excellent cycle stability for more capacity and long cycle life with a dual-confined flexible cathode
than 300 cycles.[704] In addition, the electrode also exhibited a configuration by encapsulating S in N-doped double-shelled
remarkable Li-storage ability at the bent state due to the excel- hollow carbon spheres followed by graphene wrapping has
lent mechanical flexibility.[704] been reported.[729] In this design, S/polysulfides are effectively
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immobilized in the cathode through physical confinement by The same group also reported results on the design of a
Review
the hollow spheres with porous shells and graphene wrapping novel dual-mode S-based cathode material for Li–S batteries.[670]
as well as chemical binding between heteronitrogen atoms and In this novel design, the S was embedded in both the pyrolyzed
polysulfides. This rationally designed freestanding nanostruc- PAN nanoparticles (pPAN) and mildly reduced graphene oxide
tured of S cathode provided a well-built 3D carbon conductive nanosheets (mGO).[670] The dual-mode pPAN–S/mGO–S com-
network without requiring binders, enabling a high initial dis- posite delivered a high reversible capacity of 900–1400 mAh g−1
charge capacity of 1360 mAh g−1 at a current rate of C/5, excel- at 0.1C and a good cycling stability after initial 10 cycles due to
lent rate capability of 600 mAh g−1 at 2C rate, and sustainable the unique dual-mode structure of pPAN-S/mGO-S composite.
cycling stability for 200 cycles with nearly 100% Coulombic In the same line, Xia and co-workers synthesized a leaf-like
efficiency.[729] In Chen and co-workers’ work, they reported a GO, which included an inherent carbon nanotube midrib in
graphene/MWCNT-based 3D hierarchical sandwich-type archi- the GO plane, for preparing GO/S composites. Owing to the
tecture for Li–S batteries.[730] The graphene–MWCNT@S com- inherent high conductivity of carbon nanotube midribs and the
posite exhibited a high initial capacity of 1396 mAh g−1 at a abundant surface groups of GO for S-immobilization. The com-
current density of 0.2C. A much improved cycling stability and posite with a S-content of 60 wt% exhibited ultralong cycling
rate capability were achieved for the graphene–MWCNT@S stability for over 1000 cycles with a low capacity decay of 0.033%
composite cathode compared with the composite without gra- per cycle and a high rate up to 4C. Even with the high S-loading
phene or MWCNT. The superior electrochemical performance of 2.7 mg cm−2 on the electrode and the high S-content of
was mainly attributed to the synergistic effects of graphene and 85 wt%, a promising cycling performance over 600 cycles was
MWCNTs, which provided a 3D conductive network for elec- reported.[741] N-doped aligned CNT/graphene sandwiches were
tron transfer, open channels for ion diffusion, strong confine- designed and in situ fabricated by a facile catalytic growth on
ment of soluble polysulfides, and effective buffer for volume bifunctional natural catalysts that exhibited a high-rate perfor-
expansion of the S cathode during discharge.[730] The design mance as scaffolds for Li–S batteries, with a high initial capacity
of 3D nanoarchitectures of graphene/CNT@porous carbon of 1152 mAh g−1 at 1.0 C. A high capacity of 770 mAh g−1 was
resulted in interlinked hierarchical composites with good elec- achieved even at 5C.[742]
trical conductivity and a robust framework, while the meso-/ Based on the above discussion, it is worthwhile to men-
microporous carbon and the interlamellar compartment tion that the structure of graphene nanocomposite plays a
between the opposite graphene accommodated S and poly- central role in improving the electrochemical performance
sulfides.[731] Therefore, the nanocomposite cathodes showed an of Li–S cathodes. Recent work reported in the literature
ultrahigh specific capacity of 1121 mAh g−1 at 0.5C, a favorable showed that graphene-based nanostructures can, to some
high-rate capability of 809 mAh g−1 at 10C, a very low capacity extent, reduce the polysulfide dissolution in Li–S batteries
decay of 0.12% per cycle, and an impressive cycling stability of and hence improve their capacity and cycle performance. The
877 mAh g−1 after 150 cycles at 1C.[731] In addition, as S loading electrochemical performance of some of these graphene/S
increased from 50 wt% to 77 wt%, high capacities of 970, 914, nanocomposite-based cathodes used in advanced Li–S batteries
and 613 mAh g−1 could still be obtained at current densities of is summarized in Table 3.
0.5, 1, and 5C, respectively.[731]
5.8. Graphene (or rGO)-Modified Separators for Li–S Batteries

5.7. Graphene (or rGO)/S/Second Conductive Phase
Although the above-mentioned strategies have consistently
The addition of another second conductive phase can also help contributed to immobilize and trap the intermediate poly-
improve conductivity, enhance the capacity retention, and cycle sulfides and partially reduced the degradation of Li anodes,
performance. In this context, CNFs, pyrolyzed polyacrylonitrile these approaches are fundamentally ineffective in avoiding
(PAN), and SWNT were used as a second conductive phase polysulfide anions from migrating toward Li anode and elimi-
to synthesize rGO thermally exfoliated GNS–S nanocompos- nating the prevalent “shuttle effect” phenomenon. Because
ites,[667,732–735] pyrolyzed PAN–S/GNS (pPAN–S/GNS) compos- current Li–S batteries use Li metal as the anode, which is
ites,[668,736] graphene/SWNT-S hybrid material,[737,738] CNF/S/ very reactive in most electrolyte solutions, therefore, leading
graphene,[739] and graphene/micro@mesoporous carbon/S,[740] to Li corrosion and dendrite formation, and hence causing
respectively, showing improved electrochemical performance. deterioration in electrochemical performance, degradation/
Yin et al. prepared pyrolyzed PAN–S–graphene nanosheets device failure and safety concerns. These problems can be
tricomponents.[668] The electrochemical properties of the pyro- further magnified in Li–S batteries because the Li surface and
lyzed PAN–S/GNS (pPAN–S/GNS) composite cathode exhib- dendrite structures are also very reactive with the polysulfide
ited a reversible capacity of 1500 mAh g−1 at the first cycle, species in the electrolyte, hence resulting in the deposition of
corresponding to a S utilization of about 90%. Even up to 6C, a insoluble Li sulfide coatings on the Li anode. These reactions
high capacity of 800 mAh g−1 was obtained. The superior perfor- can cause the removal of the active species from the system,
mance of pPAN–S/GNS was attributed to the presence of GNS and the loss of contact between the anode and the electro-
and the composite structure. The GNS in the composite mate- lyte which can lead to a serious capacity fading. In order to
rials exerted as a 3D nanocurrent collector, which provided not improve the electrochemical performance of Li–S batteries, the
only as an electronically conductive matrix, but also as a frame- highly reactive Li must absolutely be isolated from contacting
work, resulting in improved electrochemical performance.[668] with the dissolved multiple intermediary sulfides during the
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electrostatic interactions.[754] Such electro-

Review
Table 3. Examples of different graphene-based nanocomposites for Li–S batteries reported in

the literature. static repulsion and physical inhibition
largely decreased the transference of poly-
Materials S content Electrochemical performance sulfides across the GO membrane in the
[wt%]
Li–S system (Figure 26b).[754] Consequently,
N-graphene/S[743] 80 1st cycle capacity: 1357 mAh g−1 at 0.1C Cycle life: the GO membrane with highly tunable
500 cycles at 1C functionalized properties, high mechanical
Good rate capability strength, low electric conductivity, and facile
rGO/hair-derived carbon/S[744] 69 1st capacity: 1113.2 mAh g−1 at 0.2C fabrication procedure was reported to be an
Cycle life: 300 cycles at a 0.2C
effective permselective separator system in
Li–S batteries (Figure 26c,d).[754]
Rate capability: good
Cheng and co-workers also designed
CNT–graphene/S[738] 53 1st cycle capacity: 912 mAh g−1 at 0.2C cycle life: a sandwich graphene-based structure for
100 cycles at 0.2C rechargeable Li–S batteries,[755,756] the gra-
ZnO layer coated rGO/S[745] 55 1st cycle capacity: 998 mAh g−1 at 0.2C Cycle life: phene membrane was used as a current
100 cycles at 0.2C collector (GCC), while S was directly coated
Leaf-like GO/CNT/S[741] 60, 75, and 85 60% S-based composite cycle life >1000 cycles on it and acted as the active material.[755]
and high rate up to 4C An extra graphene membrane was coated
75 wt% S-based composite cycle life >1000 cycles on a commercial polymer separator sur-
face.[755] In this way, both sides of S were
85 wt% S-based composite cycle life > 600 cycles
coated by flexible and conductive graphene
Amino-functionalized rGO/S[687] 69 1st capacity: >800 mAh g−1
layers to enhance the electric conductivity,
Cycle life: 350 cycles and accommodate the large volumetric
Excellent high-rate response up to 4C expansion of S during lithiation.[755] In
Vertically aligned S/graphene 66 1st cycle capacity:1261 mAh g−1 at 1/8C addition, these graphene layers acted as
nanowalls[746] S reservoirs to store and reuse migrated
Cycle life > 120 cycles at 1/8C
polysulfides, hence alleviating the shut-
tling effect during continued discharging/
High-rate performance of over 400 mAh g−1 at 8C
charging (Figure 27a,b).[755]
Graphene/S[747] 70 1st cycle capacity:1080 mAh g−1 at 0.1 A g−1 As a result, this designed Li–S battery
Cycle life > 60 cycles at 0.1 A g−1 showed decreased interface impedance
Good rate performance (Figure 27c) and delivered a very high revers-
ible capacity up to 1200 mAh g−1 at 0.3 A g−1
Self-assembled graphene/S 80 1st cycle capacity: 865.1 mAh g−1 at 0.5 mA cm−2
composite[748]
current density. Even at increased current
−2
density to 1.5 and 6 A g−1, high reversible
Cycle life > 50 cycles at 0.5 mA cm
capacities of 1000 and 750 mAh g−1, respec-
Good rate performance tively, were recorded which indicated an
3D graphene/S hybrid sponges [728] 80 11th cycle areal specific capacitance: 6.0 mAh cm−2 ultrafast charge/discharge capability and
Cycle life: 300 cycles excellent rate performance.[755] Compared to
the other configurations, the batteries with
a GCC/S+G-separator exhibited improved
discharge/charge process. In this regard, a new design of a capacity retention upon cycling for 300 times at 1.5 A g−1 cur-
Li–S cell is necessary.[749–752] rent (Figure 27d).[755]
Recently, rGO was used in sandwiched-like structure In Manthiram’s work on 3D N/S-co-doped graphene sponge
between S cathode and the separator to act as a shuttle inhib- electrode research, with the help of a graphene-coated sepa-
itor to the S and polysulfides.[753] This designed structure rator, further improvements of electrochemical performance in
delivered large initial discharge capacity of 1260 mAh g−1 and the Li–S battery system were obtained.[718] For example, even
excellent capacity retention of about 900 mAh g−1 even after at high active material loading of 8.5 mg cm−2, the unique
100 cycles. This improvement in performance was attributed structure enabled the battery to deliver a high capacity of
to the strong absorption and strong interactions between rGO 1070 mAh g−1 at 0.2C rate (Figure 28a),[718] and the reversible
and the S and polysulfide, which can inhibit the shuttle phe- discharge capacity could reach 500 mAh g−1 at a large current
nomenon and promote the re-utilization of the electrochemi- rate of 2C rate (Figure 28b).[718] In addition, a long-term cyclic
cally active materials during prolonged cycling. [753] Huang and test at 0.5C rate was carried out and the initial specific capacity
co-workers proposed a unique Li–S battery configuration with was 925 mAh g−1, which stabilized at around 670 mAh g−1 after
an ultrathin GO membrane for high stability (Figure 26a).[754] 200 cycles (Figure 28c).[718]
The oxygen electronegative atoms modified GO into a polar In addition to the aforementioned research, highly porous
plane, and the carboxyl groups acted as ion-hopping sites of PAN/GO membrane separator,[757] TiO2/graphene interlayer
positively charged species (Li+) and rejected the transpor- coated separator,[758] and janus separator of polypropylene(PP)-
tation of negatively charged species (Sn2–) as a result of the supported cellular graphene framework,[751] were also reported
www.advenergymat.de
Review
Figure 26. a) A schematic of a GO membrane in a Li–S cell. In this novel architecture, the GO membrane was sandwiched between cathode and anode,
which can efficiently prohibit the shuttle of polysulfides through the GO membrane. b) Permselectivity of the GO membrane. Optical images indicated
the diffusion of high-order polysulfides for H-type cell without (inset top) or with a GO membrane (inset bottom), and the dependence of the gray
level in the right chamber as different diffusion times. c) The electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS) curves with/without GO membrane (inset is
the enlarged EIS at high-frequency region). d) Cycling performance in Li–S batteries at a rate of 0.1C with/without a GO membrane. Reproduced with
Figure 27. a) Schematic diagram of a Li–S battery with a common Al foil, S cathode, and commercial separator (Al foil/S+separator) configuration.
b) Schematic of a Li–S battery with a graphene sponge as current collector (GCC), S cathode, and graphene separator (GCC/S+G separator). The paler
yellow color represents the reduced shuttle effect. c) Nyquist plots of the impedance of the electrode for the different configurations. d) Cycling stability
of the GCC/S+G separator cell at 1.5 A g−1 current for 300 cycles. Reproduced with permission.[755] Copyright 2014, Wiley.
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Review
Figure 28. a) A galvanostatic discharge/charge profiles of the N,S-co-doped graphene electrode with graphene-coated separator at various rates.
b) Rate performance of the N,S-co-doped graphene electrode with graphene-coated separator at different current densities. c) The cycling performance
of the N,S-co-doped graphene electrodes with graphene-coated separator at 0.5C for 200 cycles. Reproduced with permission.[718] Copyright 2015,
Nature Publishing Group.
as novel separators for Li–S batteries. The results discussed performance degradation, device failure, low Columbic effi-
above show that incorporating graphene and graphene oxide ciency, and safety concern.[441,636,760,763–769] In order to improve
into polymer membrane separators can lead to a significant the overall electrochemical performance and safety of Li–S bat-
performance improvement in the Li–S batteries. teries, these problems must be tackled and minimized to the
barest, which requires further insight at a more fundamental
level.[760] One of the strategies used to address these issues is
5.9. Other Interesting Studies About Graphene (or rGO)-Based to use Li2S as the cathode, which can be coupled with Li-free
Materials in Li–S Batteries and safer anodes, such as nanostructured Si, Sn, and transition
metal oxides to solve the Li dendrite problem.[770,771] However,
Other novel research on the use of graphene-based materials two significant issues with the S cathode, e.g., the poor elec-
for Li–S batteries also showed tremendous improvements in trical conductivity and intrinsic polysulfide shuttle continue to
electrochemical performance. Among the methods used to exist in Li2S cathode-based batteries.[770,771] The uniform dis-
prepare these graphene composites include, coating catalyst Pt persion of Li2S phase into a conductive and flexible long-range
on the surface of graphene to anchor soluble polysulfides,[759] 2D graphene framework to fabricate graphene/Li2S-based
using graphene to modify pure Li metal to protect Li anode nanocomposite cathodes, could be an effective way to realize a
and to minimize the shuttle phenomena,[760] and adding some better utilization of Li2S in Li−S batteries. For more details on
inorganic nanoparticles, such as SiO2,[761] ZrO2,[762] into gra- this topic, we refer the reader to catch recent reported results
phene phase to further trap polysulfides and minimize their on the use of graphene (or GO)/Li2S nanocomposites for Li–S
dissolutions and prevent them from subsequent transportation batteries.[772–776]
between anodes and cathodes. Another strategy that can be used is to directly protect Li
Based on our discussion in the Li/S section of this review, anode using graphene-based materials. Recent work reported
several issues including the safety, S utilization, rate capability, on the use of graphene composites in Li–S batteries showed
and cyclability still need to be addressed to advance the knowl- that a graphene-modified Li anode with SEI induced by the
edge. Current Li–S batteries use pure Li metal as the anode, polysulfide-containing electrolyte, demonstrated a superior den-
which can cause serious safety issues because Li metal is highly drite-inhibition behavior and improved Coulombic efficiency
reactive in most electrolyte solutions where dendritic and mossy to ≈97% for more than 100 cycles. The stable and efficient Li
metals are very often formed during prolonged discharge/ deposition could be maintained even after 2000 cycles.[760] Some
charge cycles. In addition, the pulverized and detached Li metal other unique properties include rapid Li-ion transfer, high
formed during cycling can result in explosion when exposed to electron, and ionic conductivities, low polarization were also
air. These drawbacks can lead to serious problems including observed after using the graphene-modified Li anodes. These
www.advenergymat.de
fascinating results showed that the nanoscale interfacial elec- However, the current nonaqueous Li–air batteries still face
Review
trode engineering combined with graphene-based materials many challenges, including:[793–795,797,800] (i) The lack of effi-
could be a promising strategy to tackle the intrinsic problems of cient electrocatalysts and air cathodes for both oxygen ORR
Li metal anodes, thus improving the performance and safety of and OER; (ii) isolation of electrolyte as well as Li metal to
Li–S cells.[760] prevent reaction with H2O and CO2 from ambient air; and
In addition, using advanced characterization techniques, such (iii) poor cycle life/reversibility of the chemistry and high
as X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, nuclear mag- overpotential due to the formation of irreversible Li2O2 prod-
netic resonance (NMR), and establishing necessary theoretical ucts. The high reactivity of superoxide ions formed during
models,[771,777–779] to fully understand the complex chemistry, discharge causes severe electrolyte degradation and catalyst
such as the basic reaction mechanism, dissolution and precipita- poisoning, which require the design of multifunctional and
tion of solid phases, and the detailed transport and migration stable electrocatalysts.
of polysulfide species in Li–S batteries, are necessary to provide
insight into the elementary and internal processes of the Li–S
batteries.[637,778] 6.1. Graphene
Finally, the potential utilizations of novel polymer or polymer
composite-based solid-state electrolytes or gel electrolytes, inor- Superior properties of graphene render pure graphene or gra-
ganic solid-state electrolytes in Li–S batteries may also be very phene/catalyst nanocomposites as potential cathode materials
helpful to decrease the shuttle effect, prevent the Li dendrite and electrocatalysts for rechargeable Li–air batteries.[673,801,802]
formations and further improve the electrochemical perfor- It was reported that a pure graphene cathode can form an
mance.[6,639,780–785] Therefore, Li–S technologies are still far from ideal 3D structure with well-defined diffusion channels for
commercialization and more efforts are needed to improve the both the electrolyte and O2, which can increase the reaction
electrochemcial performance of these promising battery systems. efficiency. Graphene also have adequate active edge sites,
In the following section, we will discuss recent developments of which significantly contribute to the superior electrocatalytic
graphene-based nanocomposites for use in Li–air batteries. activity toward ORR and lead to an excellent discharge capacity
of 8706 mAh g−1 in nonaqueous electrolyte systems.[803] Sun
et al. reported results on the use of graphene as a cathode
6. Li–Air Batteries catalyst for rechargeable Li–air batteries in an alkyl carbonate
electrolyte, which showed higher catalytic activity than that
Li–air batteries that compose of Li metal anode, Li+ con- of Vulcan XC-72 carbon-based cathode.[804] Similarly, Wang et
ducting electrolyte, and porous air cathode have shown al. drew a multi-layered graphene-based air electrode on the
great promise as good candidates for high energy density surface of a Li-ion conducting ceramic film-based electrolyte.
energy storage devices.[786–796] A Li–air system is an integra- These multilayered graphene-based cathode effectively cata-
tion chemistry in which the discharge process pertains to lyzed the ORR with capacity retention of 500–700 mAh g−1 for
the electrochemical oxidation of Li metal
at the anode and reduction of oxygen (O2)
from air at the cathode with the reaction
between them leading to the formation of
a series of products, Li peroxide (Li2O2),
and Li oxide (Li2O), which are generally
referred to as “oxygen reduction reactions”
(ORRs).[793,794,796–799] The charging pro-
cess involves the electrochemical decom-
position of Li2O2 (or Li2O) to Li and O2
and the related reaction is the so-called
“oxygen evolution reaction” (OER) as illus-
trated in Figure 29.[792] In this system,
metallic Li acts as the anode while the
cathode (oxygen) is drawn from air which
is the basis for high theoretical capacity
and energy density, distinctly higher than
that of conventional rechargeable bat-
tery systems (Ni-Cd, Ni-MH, and Li-ion).
For example, the nonaqueous Li–air bat-
tery that operates based on a simple reac-
tion chemistry between Li ions and oxygen
(2Li+ + O2 + 2e− ↔ Li2O2, E = 2.96 V) can
have a high theoretical specific energy and
energy density of about 3505 Wh kg−1 and Figure 29. Schematic diagram showing the operations of a rechargeable aprotic Li–air battery.
3436 Wh L−1, respectively. Reproduced with permission.[792] Copyright 2010, American Chemical Society.
www.advenergymat.de
over 15 cycles.[805] Graphene has also proved to be a promising the presence of porous architectures. In Figure 30c,d, the SEM
Review
constituent of air–cathode in hybrid Li–air systems composed images suggest that lattice defects on functionalized graphene
of an aqueous electrolyte at the cathode side and an non- play a critical role through hosting the small, nanometer-sized
aqueous electrolyte at the anode side. In Yoo and co-workers’ discharge products (Li2O2), which is also observed using DFT
study, they examined graphene nanosheets (GNSs) for use as modeling as shown in Figure 30e,f. The combination of hier-
air–electrode in a hybrid Li–air system.[806] It was shown to sig- archical pore structure and graphene surface defects produces
nificantly reduce the overpotential and a high capacity could an exceptionally high capacity of ≈15 000 mAh g−1 at the first
be achieved in this hybrid battery systems. The presence of discharge cycle as shown in Figure 30g.[809] The challenge
sp3-hybridized carbon atoms at the edges of GNSs was sug- here is to obtain a high density porous graphene material for
gested as the contributor for the reduction of overpotential. an improved volumetric capacity and also to make the system
In additon, these GNS-based air electrodes exhibited a stable rechargeable.
capacity retention up to 50 cycles.[806] In Wang and co-worker’s work, the authors found that a free-
standing, hierarchically porous carbon derived from GO gel
on Ni foam could serve as an effective air–electrode for Li–air
6.2. Porous Graphene batteries.[810] The Go nanocomposite delivered high capacities
of 11060 mAh g−1 and 2020 mAh g−1 at high current density
The structure of graphene electrode has a significant impact of 0.28 A g−1 and 2.8 A g−1, respectively. The authors attributed
on the performance of Li–air batteries and a porous graphene these excellent performances to the synergistic effect of the
electrode can help increase the performance because the pore loose packing of the carbon, the hierarchical porous structure,
size and pore volume can affect the discharge capacity in Li–air and the high electronic conductivity of the Ni foam.[810]
battery cathode.[807,808] For example, larger pore volume allows
Li oxides to be accommodated during discharge process. On
the other hand, the entrance of the pores clogs easily if the 6.3. Heteroatom-Doped Graphene (or rGO)
pore size is too small.[807,808] Therefore, the pore size should be
optimized to prevent clogging, enhance effective diffusion of Chemically doped graphene has been demonstrated as a cata-
oxygen over the entire pore network in graphene and to max- lyst with enhanced activity in Li-air battery electrodes.[811] Yoo
imize the pure volume to accommodate large amount of dis- et al. showed enhanced electrocatalytic activity of N-graphene
charge products.[807,808] cathode in acidic conditions.[812] According to DFT calculations,
Xiao and co-workers adopted colloidal microemulsion to the presence of pyridine-type species in graphene (N-graphene)
fabricate hierarchically porous 3D graphene cathode with activates oxygen reduction due to oxygen bonding with the
interconnected pore channels at both the micron and nano lone electron pair. In another study, Li et al. used N-graphene
meter scales.[809] SEM images in Figure 30a,b clearly indicate as a cathode for rechargeable Li-air batteries, which delivered a
Figure 30. a) SEM of images of egg shell structured FGS with large pores. b) SEM image of the nanopores in FGS. c) Small Li2O2 nanoparticles
produced on FGS with C/O = 14. d) Large Li2O2 nanoparticles of FGS with C/O = 100. e,f) Top and side views of optimized Li2O2 on the 5-8-5 defect
graphene with COOH functional groups. g) Discharge curve for Li–air battery using FGS (C/O = 14). Reproduced with permission.[809] Copyright 2011,
American Chemical Society.
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large discharge capacity of 11 660 mAh g−1, ≈40% higher than catalytic activities and ultrahigh stability. The novel nanoporous
Review
pristine graphene.[813] The electrocatalytic activity of N-gra- N-doped graphene/RuO2 based Li-O2 batteries showed highly
phene for ORR in a nonaqueous electrolyte was found to be reversible cathodic reactions for up to 100 cycles at the cutoff
2.5 times higher than that of pristine graphene. However, the capacity of 2000 mAh g−1 and low average charge potential of
main challenge was the reversibility of oxide products formed 3.7 V (excellent stability toward Li2O2 formation and decom-
after several cycles. The overpotential between the discharge/ position), giving rise to low overpotentials for high-efficiency
charge processes was still high due to the irreversible nature of rechargeable Li–O2 batteries.[834] Most importantly, this syn-
Li2O formation, which requires further investigation to be fully thesis technique presents a general strategy to develop other
understood. Electrocatalytic materials for both ORR and OER transition metal oxide/graphene nanocomposites as multifunc-
in the same system have yet to be identified and studied. This tional catalysts for Li-air batteries.
requires both computational efforts using DFT modeling and Noble metals/oxides show the best performance but their
experimental efforts to enable the development of novel low- wide use is restricted by the high cost.[817] Transition metal
cost materials. oxides are inexpensive but show limited performance.[835]
Recently, Qiu and co-workers fabricated a 3D porous Therefore, a hybrid combination of both these types of mate-
N-doped graphene frameworks made of interconnected nanoc- rials is necessary to make the electrocatalysts work better for
ages for Li–O2 batteries.[814] Benefiting from such a unique these systems. These can be designed by conducting modeling
structure, the as-synthesized electrodes delivered a high spe- work and appropriate synthesis methods. Up to date, these
cific capacity, an excellent rate capacity of 5978 mAh g−1 at attempts have resulted in low efficiency and poor rate perfor-
3.2 A g−1, and long-cycle stability, especially at a large current mance, instability, and unwanted chemical reactions. There-
density (54 cycles at 1 A g−1). More importantly, based on the fore, more work is needed to address these issues. The elec-
total mass of C and Li2O2, a high gravimetric energy density of trochemical properties of the various graphene/metal or metal
2400 Wh kg−1 was attained at a power density of 1300 W kg−1. oxide hybrid catalysts for Li–air batteries, including those dis-
Similarly, N,S-co-doped graphene was also used as cathode for cussed in this section, are summarized in Table 4.
Li–O2 batteries.[815] Due to the unique properties of these mate-
rials, such as large surface areas, good flexibility, coexistence
of N and S atoms with tunable doping contents and positions, 6.5. Recent Breakthroughs
and high electrical conductivity, the obtained N,S-co-doped gra-
phene sheets exhibited low discharge–recharge voltage gaps, Recently, a team of researchers from the University of Cam-
high round-trip efficiencies as well as exceptional rate capability bridge have successfully used graphene-based cathodes to avoid
as cathode materials for Li–O2 batteries.[815] the production of Li2O2 particles, and to overcome these prob-
lems in Li–air batteries (Figure 31).[843] The team engineered
the negative electrode from a highly porous form of graphene,
6.4. Graphene/Noble Metals or Transition Metal Oxides added water and used Li iodide as a “mediator.” The synthesis
technique also altered the chemical makeup of the electrolyte
To further reduce the discharge/charge over-potential and such that the battery created Li hydroxide (LiOH) at the cathode
increase the energy efficiency and enhance cycle life stability instead of relying on the Li2O2 used in other Li–air battery
of Li–air batteries, nanostructured noble metals, and transition designs (Figure 31a). The products of the chemical reaction
metal oxides such as platinum nanoparticles (PtNP),[816] ruthe- build up in the porous graphene cathode as the battery was dis-
nium (Ru),[817,818] RuO2,[819,820] CoMn2O4,[821] MnCo2O4,[822,823] charged, and dissolved as the battery was recharged.[843] Com-
MnO2,[824–826] Fe2O3,[827,828] Co3O4,[829,830] ZnO,[831] and C3N4,[832] bining the new chemical makeup of the electrolyte with the
have been incorporated on the surface of graphene or porous new, “fluffy” porous graphene electrode resulted in a battery
graphene and their electrochemical catalytic activities in Li–air that was far more stable, with an energy efficiency of 93%—
batteries have also been investigaetd. For instance, PtNP–GNS which means that the amount of energy lost as heat was close
hybrid materials synthesized by liquid phase pulsed laser abla- to that of a Li-ion battery. The researchers claimed that their
tion exhibited high capacity and good cycling performance.[816] battery can be cycled for more than 2000 times with a relatively
α-MnO2 nanorods on GNS showed excellent catalytic properties low capacity fading (Figure 31b,c).[843] This new approach is a
for ORR and OER in nonaqueous electrolyte.[826] significant advancement, but the researchers stressed that the
MnCo2O4 nanoparticles grown on graphene were also con- development of the Li–air battery still has a long way to go, esti-
sidered as a hybrid catalyst that showed better catalytic activity, mating a practical device is still a decade away. The main issue
comparable to that achieved using Pt/C system.[822] Moreover, a is that, unlike previous experimental Li–air batteries that are
hybrid graphene/Co3O4 catalyst demonstrated an excellent cata- able to take their pure O2 from the air, the Cambridge’s battery
lytic activity toward ORR including a considerably more positive is cycled in pure O2.[843]
half-wave potential than that of pristine graphene. This catalyst More recently, collaborative efforts of researchers at Argonne
showed better long-term durability than that of the commercial working on Li–air batteries, have led to the development of a
Pt/C catalyst in an alkaline solution.[833] novel Li–air battery that could avoid the problem of peroxide
In Chen and co-workers’ work, they developed a 3D nano- (Li2O2) build-up (Figure 32).[844] In their research published in
porous N-doped graphene/RuO2 nanoparticle-based cathode the journal of Nature,[844] the Argonne team was able to pro-
for rechargeable Li–O2 batteries.[834] The results showed that duce a stable LiO2 by using a rGO/iridium (Ir) nanopartricle-
the encapsulated RuO2 nanoparticles had significantly high based cathode.[844]
www.advenergymat.de
Review
Table 4. Examples of different graphene-based nanocomposites for Li-air batteries reported in the literature.
Cathode materials Energy efficiency Electrochemical performance

RuO2•0.64H2O/rGO hybrid[819] 75% Good cycling performances for over 30 cycles at high current of 500 mA g−1,
high cutoff specific capacity of 5000 mAh g−1
RuO2/nanoporous N-doped graphene[836] 72% Excellent cycle life for up to 100 cycles at the cutoff capacity of 2000 mAh g−1
Graphene/Co3O4[833] 76.5% Good cycling performances for over 50 cycles at a limited cutoff capacity of 200 mAh g−1 and a
current rate of 160 mA g−1
Fe3O4/graphene[837] 72% Excellent discharge capacity of 1638 mAh g–1 at 50 mA g–1 current
Porous graphene/Ru[838] 78% High reversible capacity of 17 700 mAh g−1 at 200 mA g−1 and a long cycle life up to 200 cycles
under the cutoff capacity of 1000 mAh g−1 at the same current
Flexible binder-free graphene paper cathodes[839] 87% Long cycle life up to 16 cycles under a cut-off capacity of 1000 mAh g−1 at a current density of
200 mA g−1
Monodisperse MPd (M: Co, Ni, Cu) alloy – High specific discharge capacities of 4407, 3158, and 2512 mAh g−1 for CuPd/rGO, Co3Pd7/rGO,
nanoparticles/rGO[840] and Ni3Pd7/rGO, respectively.The rGO/Ni3Pd7 has the highest capacity of 8175 mAh g−1 over
10 cycles
Freestanding, macroporous Graphene@g-C3N4[832] – High discharge capacity of about 17300 mAh g−1 and excellent cycling performance for more than
105 cycles at 1000 mAh g−1 cutoff capacity
MnCo2O4 nanowires/rGO[841] – High initial discharge capacity of 11092 mAh g−1 and excellent cycling performance for >35 cycles
under a limited specific capacity of 1000 mAh g−1
Co-Cu yolk–shell/graphene[842] 92% High initial discharge capacity of 14821 mAh g−1 at 200 mA g−1, 7955 mAh g−1 at 800 mA g−1,
long cyclability of more than 120 cycles at 200 mA g−1 at a cutoff capacity of 1000 mAh g−1
Figure 31. a) A schematic diagram showing mechanisms for the formation and removal of LiOH in iodide redox-mediated in Li-O2 cells at the presence
of water. The electron/LiOH molar ratios during discharge and charge are both equal to 1. b,c) Discharge/charge curves for Li-O2 batteries using rGO
electrodes and a 0.05 m LiI/0.25 m LiTFSI/DME electrolyte with capacity limits of b) 1000 mAhgc−1 and c) 5000 mAhgc−1, respectively. The cell cycle rate
is based on the mass of rGO. Reproduced with permission.[843] Copyright 2015, American Association for the Advancement of Science.
www.advenergymat.de
Review
Figure 32. a) Schematic diagram showing lattice match between LiO2 and Ir3Li that may be responsible for the formation of LiO2 found on the Ir–rGO
cathode. The two structures at left are the side- and top-views representing epitaxial growth of crystalline LiO2 in Ir3Li (Li is yellow, O is red and Ir is
green). The rod-like structures are schematic representations of the observed crystalline LiO2 morphology. Two subsequent electrochemical reactions
that the LiO2 can undergo are shown on the right. b) Raman spectra of discharge product on Ir–rGO cathode for first and second discharge cycles,
indicating the existence of LiO2. c) Voltage profiles of the Ir–rGO cathode. Cycle number of voltage plot is given by the color of the plotting symbol.
Inset shows capacity as a function of cycle number. Reproduced with permission.[844] Copyright 2016, Nature Publishing Group.
This approach avoided the presence of Li2O2, a solid pre- to keep a tight contact between all the battery components.[845]
cipitate in traditional Li–air batteries, which can clog the pores Recently, some efforts have been focused on the use of novel
in the electrode, contaminate the cathode that could result in graphene structures to increase the safety of Li metal anode.[441]
a total battery failure.[844] Additionally, the team found that This effective and fruitful pure Li anode protection strategy can
the working principle of their batteries work relied on the fact help avoid the formation of Li dendrite, minimize electrolyte
that the spacing of the Ir catalyst nanoparticles in the rGO degradation at the Li anode surface and enhance the stability of
cathode favored the production of LiO2 and inhibited Li2O2 Li metal-based batteries. In addition, such a protection strategy
generation.[844] The LiO2 can easily dissociate back into Li and may extend the temperature range of the effective discharge of
O2. Avoiding the loss of O2 tied up in Li2O2 enabled the devel- the battery down to negative temperatures.[441] The combina-
opment of a Li-air battery with a closed system, which would tion of these graphene-modified anodes with a well-designed
make the units safer and more efficient.[844] graphene nanocomposite-based air cathode might be a prom-
Despite these developments and progresses, current Li–air ising solution to future practical applications of Li–air tech-
batteries still suffer from low energy efficiency, poor cycling nologies. In addition to the electrode material-based research,
stability, and serious electrolyte decomposition due to many a better understanding of the detailed reaction mechanisms at
factors including the clogging of the porous air cathode by the cathode and electrolyte interface, the diffusion kinetics and
insoluble discharge products, contamination of the organic the capacity limitation/voltage reduction in Li–air batteries are
electrolyte and Li metal anode, and the decomposition of the also necessary. Theoretical approaches and modeling studies
electrolyte during cycling.[845] Li metal is one of the most chal- are urgently needed to understand the relationship between the
lenging components in Li–air batteries, as it tends to roughen discharge time and the dimension of the pores that host the
and form dendrites during cycling, which may also cause some oxide precipitates.
safety issues.[763,764] Several methods exist to solve these prob- Finally, the fabrication of novel polymer or polymer–inorganic
lems that include: (i) using solid (inorganic or polymer) or nanofiller-based solid or gel electrolytes with improved ionic
hybrid electrolytes with high Li+ conductivity, excellent chem- conductivities and mechanical/thermal properties coupled with
ical stability and reduced interface impedance,[769] (ii) intro- graphene-based electrodes may be considered a good strategy to
ducing additives, and (iii) applying pressure on the whole cell further improve the performance of Li–air systems.[846]
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7. Na-Ion Batteries therefore it is necessary to design anode materials that meet

Review
these requirements. Na metal cannot be directly used as

Na-ion batteries have recently attracted a great interest among anode in Na-ion batteries for practical applications due to
researchers as an important source to energy storage devices its safety concern issues and the unstability of passive layer
due largely to the fact that Na is environmentally friendly and in most organic liquid electrolytes. Hence, it is necessary to
inexpensive, and it is the sixth most abundant element in the use alternative anode materials with high capacity, appro-
earth’s crust.[847–850] The working principle of Na-ion batteries is priate voltage window and good structural integrity during
similar to that of Li-ion batteries where the transport and kinetic prolonged charge/discharge cycles. The widely used graphite
behaviors of Na+ in the host materials are based on the interca- anode as Li+ host could not be used as Na+ host because of
lation or alloying type of the reaction, which is dependent on the larger ionic size of Na ion, which limits the total number
the host material itself.[847–850] of Na could be stored in graphite that has limited interlayer
As shown in Figure 33, Na ions migrate back and forth in the spacing.[856,857]
Na ion-based electrolyte between the anode and cathode upon
the application of a charge/discharge current.[851] The electron
transmits through the outer electrical circuit, which counter- 7.1.1. Pure Graphene-Based Anodes
balances the ion flow within the electrode materials. Several
materials have been used as electrodes for Na-ion batteries Pure graphene has been rarely used as electrode material in
including graphitic carbon, hard carbons, Na alloys (e.g. Sn, Na-ion batteries due to the lack of defects in its layer structure
Sb, SnSb, P, etc.) and some conversion materials (such as tran- and the low Na+ adsorption to the graphene surface. In fact, the
sition metal oxides, transition metal sulfide, etc) as anodes and capacity of a single layer of pure graphene is very modest com-
layered oxides, polyanionic phosphates, and pyrophosphates as pared to hard carbon or to other carbonaceous materials.[858]
cathodes.[847–850] Organic compounds have also been proven to Recent modeling work showed that the presence of defects in
be good alternative and environmentally sustainable electrode graphene can dramatically improve the electrochemical perfor-
materials for Na-ion batteries.[852] However, the search for the mance of graphene-based electrodes for Na-ion batteries due to
appropriate host materials for Na+ is still ongoing. The relative the enhanced Na adsorption to the defective graphene rather
larger ionic size of the Na ion compared to that of Li+ limits the than pristine graphene.[854,859]
number of the available host materials.[853] The Na-storage properties of graphene-based materials can
Graphene and graphene-based composites have been consid- be further improved by creating hierarchically porous structure,
ered as promising electrode materials for Na-ion batteries due carrying out heteroatom doping and/or fabricating different
to the unique structure, excellent electrically conductive, and types of graphene-based nanocomposites.
high surface area.[854,855]
7.1.2. Porous Graphene-Based Anodes

7.1. Anodes
Porous graphene have recently shown promises as high
The anode is a crucial component in a Na-ion battery because capacity anodes for Na-ion batteries because the porous struc-
it determines the safety and the cycle life of the Na-ion battery; ture promotes fast Na+ insertion and improves the electrical
Figure 33. A schematic diagram which shows the working principle of the rocking chair type Na-ion batteries. Reproduced with permission.[851] Copy-
right 2013, Royal Society of Chemistry.
www.advenergymat.de
conductivity of graphene.[860–865] In fact, the porous graphene 7.1.4. Graphene (or rGO)-Based Nanocomposites
Review
on both sides of graphene surface can enhance the Na+ dif-
fusion, thus improving the specific capacity and rate per- Graphene or rGO-based nanocomposites,[881–892] also show
formance.[860,866] In the study conducted by Yan et al., a excellent promise as good anode materials for Na-ion batteries
sandwich-like hierarchically porous carbon (HPC)/graphene due to their high specific capacity, excellent cycle performance,
composite was designed as a high-performance anode for and enhanced rate capability.[879,880] Transition metal oxides
Na-ion batteries.[867] The hierarchical porous carbon facilitated (e.g., SnO2, Co3O4, Fe3O4, Fe2O3, NiO, GeO2,TiO2, MgFe2O4),
the Na-ion insertion while the graphene provided a high elec- transition metal sulfides (such as SnS2, SnS, MoS2, NiS2),
tronic conductivity for electrons supply. The sandwich-like gra- metal or metal alloy (e.g. Sn, Sb, SnSb, P), and NASICON-type
phene@HPC composite displayed a specific capacity of 400 NaTi2(PO4)3 were among the most popular materials added to
mA g−1 at 1 A g−1 after 1000 cycles. However, a high irrevers- graphene matrices, in the fabrication of fully functional nano-
ible capacity of the porous carbon/graphene composite anode composite-based anodes for Na-ion batteries.[496,856,873,886,893–913]
was reported.[867] Substrates such as copper and nickel foam The results showed that these graphene nanocomposite-based
have been used to grow graphene oxides layers with common anodes enabled the development of Na-ion batteries with
methods such as CVD, simple modified reduction process, higher specific capacity, better rate capability and longer cycle
and sintering. The porous hierarchical structure/architec- life than bare graphene.[846,856,877,903,905,914–919]
ture electrodes from these depositions often facilitate Na+ dif- Graphene (or rGO)/Transition Metal Oxide-Based Anodes: Tran-
fusion while the graphene is beneficial for the fast electron sition metal oxide/graphene composites have shown a great
transport.[868,869] interest as anodes for Na-ion batteries.[865,880] For example, SnO2/
graphene composite anode that was prepared by in situ hydro-
thermal method delivered a high capacity of 700 mAh g−1 after
100 cycles at 20 mA g−1 for Na-ion battery anode (Figure 34).[920]
7.1.3. Heteroatom-Doped Graphene-Based Anodes Xie et al. investigated the effect of N-doping into graphene
to improve the electrochemical performance of SnO2/graphene
The heteroatom doping with O, N, B, P can significantly composite-based anode for Na-ion batteries.[874] The SnO2/N-
increase the electrode/electrolyte wettability, electronic con- graphene composite anode showed an enhanced electrochem-
ductivity, and also create abundant defects and active sites in ical performance for Na-ion batteries compared to the SnO2/
the graphene structure.[859,866,870–873] Doped graphene compos- graphene counterpart.[874] It was shown that N-doping could
ites have been recently used as anodes for Na-ion batteries not only improve the Na+ storage capacity within the graphene
due to the improved electron transfer efficiency caused by the networks by increasing electro-active sites, but also improve
increased amount of defects in the graphene structure after the electron transfer efficiency within the electrode, leading
doping. In addition, the doping can help create more reactive to enhancement of the electro-activity in SnO2/N-graphene
site, preserve structure integrity of graphene during sodiation/ nanocomposites.
desodiation, leading to improved electrochemical performance Recently, Liu et al. synthesized Co3O4 mesoporous
in Na-ion batteries.[874–876] Wang et al. was the first to report nanosheets/3D graphene networks (Co3O4MNSs/3DGNs)
results on the use of rGO as anode in Na-ion batteries where nanohybrids and investigated as anode materials for Na-ion
a charge capacity around 150 to 200 mAh g−1 was reported.[877] batteries.[921] Results from this study showed that the Co3O4
The presence of defects in rGO results in improved capacity MNSs/3DGNs nanohybrids exhibited better Na-storage per-
and rate performance but these defects had same drawbacks formance with enhanced reversible capacity, good cycle perfor-
in terms of columbic efficiency for Na-ion batteries.[855,878–880] mance, and rate capability as compared to single Co3O4 MNSs
Similarly, Xu et al. developed a 3D graphene anode based and Co3O4 nanoparticles. The improved electrochemical perfor-
on N-doped graphene (N-graphene) for Na-ion batteries.[871] mance was attributed to the mesoporous nature of the products,
The 3D N-graphene anode exhibited a high initial capacity of the addition of 3DGNs, 3D assembled hierarchical architecture
852.6 mAh g−1 at 1C and the anode maintained a high capacity and the decrease in volume expansion during cycling.[921] In
of 594 mAh g−1 with 70% capacity retention after 150 cycles. Fu and co-workers’ study, they fabricated diamond-like Fe3O4
The outstanding electrochemical performance of the 3D N-gra- nanoparticle/graphene composites for Na-ion batteries.[908]
phene anode was attributed to the synergetic effects associated The reported initial discharge capacity was 855 mAh g−1 at
with the highly porous structure, high surface area, and the 100 mA g−1, and after 40 cycles, the discharge capacity was
defects induced by the N-doping that facilitated the Na ion stabilized at about 210 mAh g−1. This value can remain rela-
diffusion coupled with the low volume change of the porous tively stable for more than 250 cycles.[908] The excellent perfor-
structure after repeated charge/discharge cycles.[871] Recently, mance was attributed to the greatly improved electrical conduc-
Ling et al. designed a B-doped graphene as promising anode tivity, large surface area, and excellent stability of the electrode
for Na-ion batteries.[872] From the first-principle calculations, material.[908]
they demonstrated that the sodiation of B-doped graphene Graphene (or rGO)/Transition Metal Sulfide-Based Anodes:
well preserve its structural integrity. These materials delivered Transitional metal sulfide/graphene composites are
a high reversible capacity which is more than 2.5 higher than also considered as good candidates for Na-ion batteries
that of hard carbon in a Na-ion battery. In addition, the high anodes.[353,865,896,916,922–928] Xu et al. reported results on the
electronic mobility and Na mobility on this B-doped graphene use of a freestanding SnS2/graphene nanosheets as anodes
also led to a high potential to reach good rate performance. for Na-ion batteries by using a two-step solvothermal reaction
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Figure 34. a) The charge and discharge profiles at the first and second cycles of bare graphene, bare SnO2, and SnO2@graphene nanocomposite-
based anodes at 20 mA g−1 current density. b) Cycling performance of bare graphene, bare SnO2, and SnO2@graphene nanocomposites at 20 mA g−1
current density. c) Cycling performance of SnO2@graphene nanocomposites at various current densities. d) Rate performance of SnO2@graphene
nanocomposites at varied current densities. Reproduced with permission.[920] Copyright 2013, Royal Society of Chemistry.
strategy.[900] The anode exhibited a capacity of 378 mAh g−1 after Similarly, a 3D MoS2–GO microsphere was used as anode
200 cycles at a current density of 1200 mA g−1 with a good rate for Na-ion batteries.[930] The MoS2/GO microsphere com-
performance up to 3000 mA g−1.[900] Similarly, SnS2 restacked posite delivered a high charge/discharge capacity of 797 and
on graphene was developed by Liu et al. as an anode for Na-ion 573 mAh g−1 at the first cycle at 0.2 A g−1.[930] After 600 cycles,
batteries where a high capacity of 650 mAh g−1 at a current the discharge capacity was preserved at about 322 mAh g−1 at
density of 200 mA g−1 was reported, showing an excellent elec- a current density of 1.5 A g−1.[930] Aside the incorporation of
trochemical performance.[496] This outstanding performance of the graphene oxide into the host material matrix, growing gra-
the SnS2/graphene composite anode was attributed to the syn- phene directly on a suitable substrate has been demonstrated to
ergetic effects between the ultra small SnS2 and the highly con- deliver a better electrochemical performance.[869,924,931,932]
ductive graphene network.[496] Results reported by Qu et al. on Metal sulfide/metal oxide graphene tri-composites have also
the design of a layered SnS2/rGO composite anode for Na-ion been considered as suitable anodes for Na-ion batteries. For
batteries[929] showed that the SnS2/rGO electrode delivered a instance, SnO2 has extensively been investigated as a potential
high charge specific capacity of 630 mAh g−1 at 0.2 A g−1, good anode for Na-ion batteries due to its high theoretical capacity
rate performance and long cycle-life of 500 mAh g−1 at 1 A g−1 (667 mAh g−1) and abundance but it shows poor electronic con-
for 400 cycles (Figure 35).[929] ductivity and low initial columbic efficiency.[933,934] SnS has also
The good electrochemical performance was attributed to the attracted attention as good anode material for Na-ion batteries
SnS2-layered structure where the increased interlayer spacing owing to its layered structure and high reversible capacity.[912,935]
acted as a buffer for the high volume change during Na–Sn Hence, designing hetrostructures of metal oxides and metal
insertion and deinsertion; and also to the good conductivity sulfides can result in anodes with enhanced electronic conduc-
and mechanical resilience of the rGO nanocomposite.[929] In a tivity, Na-ion diffusion capability, good cyclability, and perfor-
study involving exfoliated MoS2 sheets and rGO synthesized by mance.[936] In a study by Zheng et al., the authors developed
Sahu et al. and directly used as anode for Na-ion batteries,[896] a a novel anode electrode with a good architecture for Na-ion
reversible specific capacity of 575 mAh g−1 at 100 mA g−1 and batteries. In this design, an amorphous carbon covered SnS/
218 mAh g−1 at 50 mA g−1 was reported.[896] SnO2 heterostructures were further anchored by graphene
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Figure 35. Representative a) FE-SEM and b) HR-TEM images of the SnS2–rGO nanocomposites. c) Cycle performance of the SnS2–rGO nanocom-
posite-, SnS2-, and rGO-based anodes in Na-ion batteries at 0.2 A g−1 for 100 cycles. d) Rate performance of SnS2–rGO nanocomposites and SnS2-based
anodes at various current densities. Reproduced with permission.[929] Copyright 2014, Wiley.
nanosheets and used as Na-ion battery anodes (Figure 36a).[936] cycles at a current density of 100 mA g−1.[938] A rGO loaded with
The C@SnS/SnO2@graphene composite anode delivered a SnSb nanocomposites was also investigated by Ji et al. as anode
capacity of 409 mAh g−1 after 500 cycles at 810 mA g−1 with in Na-ion batteries.[895] The rGO–SnSb nanocomposites were
a capacity retention of 73%, indicating an outstanding cycling synthesized through a hydrothermal reaction and subsequent
stability (Figure 36d). At prolonged 500 cycles at 2430 mA g−1, thermal reduction treatments. The rGO–SnSb nanocomposite
this graphene-based nanocomposite anodes still exhibited a anode delivered a capacity of 407 mAh g−1 over 80 cycles with a
reversible capacity of 360 mAh g−1 (Figure 36d).[936] good rate capability up to 30C.[895] Sun et al. reported interesting
Graphene/Metal or P Nanocomposite-Based Anodes: Metal/ results on anode for Na-ion batteries composed of a few P layers
graphene composites have also attracted interest as anodes for sandwiched between graphene layers, which showed a specific
Na-ion batteries. In one study, a Sb/multilayer graphene hybrid capacity of 2440 mAh g−1 at a current density of 0.05 A g−1 with
anode delivered a high reversible sodium storage capacity of 452 a capacity retention of 83% after 100 cycles.[939] In Zhang and
mAh g−1 at 100 mA g−1 with a stable cycling performance (90% co-workers study, they fabricated flexible paper made of N-doped
capacity retention after 200 cycles) and good rate capability up to graphene and amorphous P.[940] The nanostructured hybrid
5000 mA g−1.[937] In the same vein, Ding et al. fabricated NiSb/ anode exhibits an ultrastable cyclic performance and excellent
Sb hybrid nanostructures in situ grown in the interlayer between rate capability (809 mAh g−1 at 1500 mA g−1). The excellent struc-
graphene and 3D nickel substrate by a graphene confined tural integrity of the novel anode was further visualized during
replacement strategy.[898] The graphene composite anode deliv- cycling by using in situ experiments inside a HRTEM technique.
ered a reversible capacity of 517 mAh g−1 at 50 mA g−1 and 315 A density functional theory (DFT) calculations confirmed that the
mAh g−1 at 1000 mA g−1 with a capacity retention of 305 mAh N-doped graphene not only contributes to an increase in capacity
g−1 after 100 cycles at 300 mAh g−1, respectively.[898] Sb-C-gra- for Na storage but also is beneficial in regards to improved rate
phene fibrous composites were also prepared by Li et al. using performance of the anode.[940]
electrospinning technique and the subsequent carbonizaton Graphene/NASICON-Type (NaTi2(PO4)3) (NTP): The
processes and used as a binder, and carbon black-free anode NASICON-type NaTi2(PO4)3 (NTP) has recently been used
for Na-ion batteries.[938] The Sb nanoparticles were well distrib- as electrode (anode and cathode) materials for Na-ion bat-
uted in the C-graphene matrix where a good reversible specific teries due to its high theoretical capacity (133 mAh g−1), high
capacity of 274 mAh g−1 was reported after 100 charge/discharge Na+ conduction, and pronounced thermal stability.[862,941,942]
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Figure 36. a) Schematic illustration of the formation of the C@SnS/SnO2@graphene hybrid nanoarchitectures. b) SEM image, and c) TEM image of
the fabricated C@SnS/SnO2@graphene nanocomposites. d) Long-term cycling performance of the C@SnS/SnO2@graphene nanocomposite-based
anodes in Na-ion batteries at two different current densities. Reproduced with permission.[936] Copyright 2016, Wiley.
Owing to the moderate voltage range, NTP can be used as both about 64 m hg−1 at 20C, and retained 71% of the initial capacity
anode and cathode in Na-ion systems.[862,941,942] Nevertheless, after 2000 cycles as Na-ion battery anodes.[943] In a recent study
the electrochemical performance of the NASICON-type NTP by Wu et al., the authors synthesized a novel graphene/NTP
electrodes suffer from strong polarization (large voltage dif- architecture that comprised embedded porous NTP nanopar-
ference between charge and discharge curves), low capacity ticles in a 3D graphene network (0D-NTP⊂3D-GN).[862] When
release, and poor cycle stability due to its low electronic con- directly used as anodes in Na-ion batteries, the reversible capac-
ductivity.[862,941,942] Combining NTP with electrically conduc- ities can be 117, 112, 105, 96, 85 mAh g−1 at current rates of 0.5,
tive materials, such as graphene, to synthesize graphene/NTP 1, 5, 10, 20C, respectively. Remarkably, even at a current rate as
nanocomposites are suitable way to prevent these hurdles high as 50C, a reversible capacity of 67 mAh g−1 can be avail-
and improve the overall electrochemical performance of these able. After 1000 cycles at 10C, it remains 80% retention of the
promising electrodes in Na-ion systems.[862,941,942] initial charge capacity, outperforming the cycling-stability of the
Recently, Pang et al. synthesized 2D graphene/NTP hybrid other reported NTP/carbon anodes.[862] In Table 5, the electro-
nanoarchitecture using a novel solvothermal strategy.[906] When chemical performance of more of recent graphene-based anode
used as anode materials for Na-ion batteries, this 2D hybrid materials for Na-ion batteries are summarized.
nanocomposite-based electrode delivered high specific capaci- Recently, lots of research efforts have been made by many
ties of 110, 85, 65 mAh g−1 at 2, 5, and 10, respectively, and researchers to improve the electrochemical performance of
could preserve 90% of the initial capacity after 100 cycles at graphene-based nanocomposite anodes for Na-ion batteries.
2C.[906] Li and co-workers also synthesized graphene/NTP nano- The fabricated graphene nanocomposite-based anodes also
composites by a sol–gel and post heat-treatment approach.[943] enable Na-ion batteries with higher specific capacity, better rate
These synthesized nanocomposites displayed a capacity of capability, and longer cycle life than that of the corresponding
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Table 5. Examples of different graphene-based nanocomposites as anodes for Na-ion batteries reported in the literature.
Review
SnS2@graphene nanosheets [900]
A capacity 633 mAh g−1 with a current density of 1 A g−1 at 400 cycles
Graphene/TiO2[907] A capacity of 115 mAh g−1 with a current density of 1 A g−1 at 300 cycles
Graphene/TiO2[883] A capacity of 143 mAh g−1 with a current density of 33.5 A g−1 at 50 cycles
Sb/carbon/graphene [938]
A capacity of 274 mAh g−1 with a current density of 100 A g−1 at 100 cycles
Graphene/GeO2[905] A capacity of 330 mAh g−1 with a current density of 100 A g−1 at 50 cycles
Sb/graphene [937]
A capacity of 452 mAh g−1 with a current density of 100 A g−1 at 200 cycles
Hollow FeSex-decoreated rGO [944]
A discharge capacity of 434 mAh g−1 at the 200th cycle at current density of 0.3 A g−1
MgFe2O4/graphene[793] A capacity of 347 mAh g−1 with a current density of 50 Ag−1 at 70 cycles
SnO2/graphene [920]
A capacity of 700 mAh g−1 with a current density of 20 Ag−1 after 100 cycles
N-doped graphene foams [871]
A capacity of 852.6 mAh g−1 at 1C after 150 cycles
SnSb@carbon nanocable/graphene nanocomposite[945] A capacity of 360 mAh g−1 for up to 100 cycles
SnS/rGO composite [881]
A capacity of 407 mAh g−1 with a current density of 100 mA g−1 after 100 cycles
3D MoS2–graphene microspheres[930] A capacity of 573 mAh g−1 at a current density of 0.2 A g−1; The 600th capacity at a current density of
1.5 A g−1 is 322 mAh g−1
VS4/rGO[946] A reversible capacity of 362 mAh g–1 at 100 mA g–1 and a good rate performance
individual components. Nevertheless, there are still numerous by a nonaqueous precipitation method and directly used as
unsolved issues and concerns that need to be addressed. These cathodes for Na-ion batteries.[956] The FeF3/rGO composite cathode
issues are often related to the high cost associated with the syn- exhibited a higher discharge capacity of 266 mAh g−1 compared to
thesis and the large-scale production of graphene-based nano- 158 mAh g−1 for the pristine FeF3 cathode. The improved capacity
composites for commercial applications of Na-ion batteries in was attributed to the effect of the rGO layers on enhancing the
large stationary energy storage and smart grids. Additionally, electrical conductivity.[956]
more work is needed to improve the safety and the first-cycle In a recent investigation conducted by Goodenough and
Coulombic efficiency of graphene nanocomposite-based anodes co-workers, a Na3V2O2(PO4)2F/rGO sandwich structure was
for Na-ion batteries. synthesized using a one-step solvothermal method and was
directly used as cathode in a Na-ion battery.[957] The rGO
composite cathode delivered a high reversible capacity of
7.2. Cathodes 120 mAh g−1 at a discharge rate of C/20 with a capacity reten-
tion of 100.4 mAh g−1 at 1C and excellent cyclic retention
Different types of materials with higher voltage than 2 V vs. Na+/ of 91.4% after 200 cycles.[957] The improved electrochemical
Na have been used as cathodes for Na-ion batteries. Those include performance of the Na3V2O2(PO4)2F/rGO composite cathode
but not limited to, Na-Mn-O, NaMnO2, P2-NaxVO2, Na2Fe2(SO4)3, was due to the sandwich structure of the nanocomposite
P2-NaxCoO2, olivine Na[Fe,Mn]PO4, and Na5/8MnO2.[947–952] and the high electrical conductivity the rGO phase.[957] Sim-
Graphene-based composites have been investigated as potential ilar results are also reported by Rui et al. on the synthesis
cathode materials for Na-ion batteries due to their high electrical of carbon coated Na3V2O2(PO4)2 (NVP) in a porous graphene
conductivity and the ability to prevent active materials from re- network (from rGO) using a freeze-drying-assisted method
uniting.[861,953–964] These include graphene or rGO with NaFeF3, (Figure 37).[864] The NVP@C@rGO nanocomposite cathode
NaMPO4, Na3M2(PO4)2F3, NaTi2(PO4)3 (NTP), (Na3V2(PO4)2F3), exhibited a long cycle life up to 10 000 cycles at a high rate of
P2-NaxCoO2, VOPO4, and Na5/8MnO2. The VOPO4 cathode dis- 100C (Figure 37).[864] The discharge capacity remained around
plays a high reversible capacity of 11÷h g−1, but it suffers from a 55 mAh g−1 after 10 000 cycles with a capacity retention of
slow charge transfer resulting from low electronic conductivity. 64% of its initial capacity.[864]
Interestingly, by incorporating rGO with the above-mentioned In Wu and co-workers’ recent study, the NASICON-type
conventional cathode materials, the capacity can be increased to porous NaTi2(PO4)3 (NTP) nanoparticles in a 3D graphene net-
a high value up to 150 mAh g−1 due to the synergetic effects of work (0D-NTP⊂3D-GN)-based nanocomposite was also used as
rGO on the cathode electrical conductivity.[965] Ruan et al. synthe- cathode for Na-ion batteries.[862] The 0D-NTP⊂3D-GN electrode
sized a graphene-modified NaVPO4F as a cathode material for delivered improved electrochemical performance in terms of
Na-ion batteries.[955] The graphene composite cathode exhibited capacity, cycle life, and rate capability compared to the pristine
improved electrochemical performance compared to the pris- NTP cathode (Figure 38).[862] The incorporation of NTP in the
tine NaVPO4F cathode where a high capacity of 120 mAh g−1 3D graphene framework synergistically combines the advantages
and a capacity retention of 97.7% after 50 cycles at 0.05C can be of a 3D graphene network and porous NTP nanoparticles. The
obtained.[955] An FeF3 hydrate/rGO composite was synthesized macro/mesoporous network enabled the rapid ion transport and
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Figure 37. a) A schematic diagram of 3D hierarchical meso- and macroporous Na3V2(PO4)3 (NVP)@C@rGO cathode with pathways for both electrons
and Na ions (the upper right corner shows the crystal structure of NASICON-type NVP). b) An illustration of freeze-drying-assisted strategy to prepare
NVP@C@rGO nanocomposites. c,d) TEM images of the as-prepared NVP@C@rGO with different magnifications, SAED pattern of an individual
particle marked by the circle is inserted in (c), HRTEM image is inserted in (d). e) Rate performance of NVP@C@rGO-based cathodes in Na-ion bat-
teries at various current rates. f) Long-term cycle life of NVP@C@rGO-based cathodes in Na-ion batteries for 10 000 cycles at 100C. Reproduced with
permission.[864] Copyright 2015, Wiley.
buffered the strain induced in the intercalation process.[862] This 8. Na–Air Batteries
architecture could also greatly enhance the electron/ion transport
kinetics and assured the electrode structure integrity, leading to Recently, Na–air batteries have attracted a great interest due to
improved electrochemical performance. In addition to NTP, the their extremely high energy density of about 1600 Wh kg−1. In
3D conductive graphene network also restricted the aggregation of addition, Na–air batteries are considered good alternatives to
other cathode nanoparticles like, Na3V2(PO4)3, etc, helped improve replace Li-ion or Li-air batteries due to their low material costs
their electrochemical behaviors as Na-ion battery cathodes.[910,966] and the natural abundance of Na, which is 30 times cheaper
In Table 6, the electrochemical performance of recent cathode than Li.[967–973] Unlike Li, Na is capable of reversibly forming
materials used for Na-ion batteries is summarized. Typically the a stable superoxide (NaO2) in pure O2 environment with low
charge/discharge capacities of these cathode materials range overpotentials during discharge process (Figure 39).[974]
between 110 mAh g−1 and 266 mAh g−1 over several charge/dis- This enables the Na–air battery to cycle with a charge effi-
charge cycles. ciency of 80%–90% after the first cycle. The formation of
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Figure 38. a) Crystal structure of the NASION-type NTP phase. b) Schematic illustration of 0D-NTP⊂3D-GN structure, showing that 0D porous NTP
nanoparticles are embedded in 3D graphene network. c) Schematic synthesis processes of 0D-NTP⊂3D-GN, including the two steps of hydrothermal
process and postheat treatment. d,e) SEM images of the NTP⊂GN. f) The charge/discharge profiles of the NTP⊂GN-based electrodes at 1C rate.
Reproduced with permission.[862] Copyright 2015, American Chemical Society.
peroxide (Na2O2), however, is kinetically hindered as it requires accumulation of discharge products, that lead to decreased
a suitable catalyst. A major challenge that needs to be addressed charge potential and improved cycling performance, requires
in the Na–air battery technologies is the excessive discharge the morphological and structural properties of the cathode (e.g.
products that accumulate on the cathode surface. Most of these surface area, pore volume, and pore size) to be tailored through
products have very low electrical conductivity, and thus tend to employing different catalysts.[967–973]
inactivate surface reaction sites and block O2 diffusion chan- Recently, Liu and co-workers demonstrated that the use
nels, leading to the increase in polarization during charging of graphene nanosheets as cathodes in Na–air systems can
and eventual termination of the OER.[967–973] Reducing the deliver a high discharge capacity and maintain a stable cycle
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Review
Table 6. Examples of different graphene-based nanocomposites as cathodes for Na-ion batteries reported in the literature.
NaTi2(PO4)3 embedded in 3D graphene network[862] A capacity of 112 mAh g−1 with a current density of 1 A g−1 at 1000 cycles
Na3V2(PO4)3/C nanoparticles[861] A capacity of 76 mAh g−1 with a current density 40 mAh g−1 at 1500 cycles
Na3/2Fe1/2Mn1/2O2@graphene[953] A reversible capacity of 156 mA g−1
VOPO4/rGO [337]
A capacity of 150 mAh g−1 at 0.05C
Fe2(MoO4)3/rGO nanocomposite [954]

A specific capacity of 75.92 mAh g−1 after 50 cycles at 1.5C
NaVPO4F/graphene[955] A discharge capacity of 118 mAh g−1 after 50 cycles at 0.05C
FeF3/rGO composite [956]

A discharge capacity of 266 mAh g−1 at 0.05C with a capacity retention of 86% after 100 cycles
Na3V2O2(PO4)2F/rGO sandwich structure[957] A reversible capacity of 120 mAh g−1 at a discharge rate of C/20 with a capacity retention of 100.4 mAh g−1 at 1C
GO wrapped Na3V2(PO4)3/C nanocomposite[958] An initial discharge capacity of 106.5 mAh g−1 at 0.1C with a capacity retention of 92.5% after 200 cycles
GNS/VOx[959] A capacity of 224 mAh g−1 after 50 cycles at 200 mA g−1
NVP/C/rGO composite[960] A specific capacity of 103 mAh g−1 after 200 cycles at 0.2C
FeF3.xH2O/graphene[961] A reversible capacity of 101 mAh g−1 after 30 cycles at 0.1C
Na3V2O2(PO4)2F@ carbon/graphene[962] A reversible capacity of 112.1 mAh g−1 after 40 cycles at 1C
Na6.24Fe4.88(P2O7)4@porous graphene composite[963] A discharge capacity of 114 mAh g−1 after 50 cycles at 0.2C
performance for up to 10 cycles.[975] In addition, the rGO during cycling.[976] Similarly, graphene nanosheets loaded
has shown remarkable catalytic properties toward the forma- with highly dispersed Pt nanoparticles (Pt@GNSs) were pre-
tion of Na2O2 under dry air conditions. However, the charge pared and used as an air cathode material for Na–air batteries
potential increased gradually during cycling, which is attrib- (Figure 40a,b).[977] These novel materials exhibited a very high
uted to the accumulation of discharge product.[975] In Li and initial discharge capacity of 7574 mAh g−1 at a current density
co-workers’ study, the authors employed N-doped graphene of 0.1 mA cm−2 and delivered a stable cycling performance for
nanosheets as Na–air battery cathodes.[976] The materials deliv- 10 cycles (Figure 40).[977]
ered a discharge capacity that was doubled of the value of Despite these progresses, the development of Na–air bat-
the undoped graphene nanosheets, confirming the excellent teries with graphene-based cathodes is still in a very early
electrocatalytic activity of N-doped graphene nanosheets for stage. Many challenges, such as dendrite formation, instability
ORRs.[976] However, the charge potential was also increased of electrolytes, by-product formation and poor cycle life still
need to be addressed. Therefore, improving
the overall electrochemical performance and
overcoming the key challenges of the gra-
phene-based cathode in Na–air batteries still
requires innovative strategies and solutions.
9. Zn–Air Batteries
In rechargeable Zn–air batteries, O2 from
the atmosphere is mixed with Zn in a
liquid alkaline electrolyte to create a charge
(Figure 41).[978] The capacity produced from
this reaction is about five times higher than
that of the Li-ion batteries.[979–984] Zn–air
batteries, with at a theoretical energy den-
sity around 1086 Wh kg−1, are expected to
be safer, lighter, cheaper, and durable than
Li-ion batteries.[979–984] However, the cur-
Figure 39. A schematic diagram showing the general working principle of an alkali metal-O2 rent Zn–air batteries suffer from many chal-
battery. During discharge, metal A is oxidized to a soluble A+ cation at the anode side and the lenges such as low cell voltage, carbonate
electron will be transferred to the outer circuit. At the cathode side, oxygen will be reduced to an
formation in the air electrodes as well as
O2− species (superoxide radical) that may form an alkali metal superoxide (AO2) with the avail-
able A+ cations. In the case of Na, the same reactions may occur, but NaO2 is thermodynami- slow kinetic of ORR and OER.[979–985] More
cally more stable and is indeed found as main discharge product in a Na-O2 cell. Reproduced research is urgently needed to develop
with permission.[974] Copyright 2013, Nature Publishing Group. more highly efficient, alternative novel
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Figure 40. a) A schematic of the structure and proposed electrocatalytic mechanism of the Na–O2 cell with graphene nanosheets loaded with Pt nanopar-
ticles (Pt@GNSs) as air cathodes. b) TEM images of Pt@GNSs. c) Cycle performance of the initial 10 cycles of Pt@GNS-base air cathodes in a Na–O2
cell with a capacity limitation of 1000 mAh g−1 at 0.1 mA cm−2 current. Reproduced with permission.[977] Copyright 2015, Royal Society of Chemistry.
bifunctional electrocatalysts that are effective for both ORR In Lee and co-workers’ study, integrated Mn3O4 nano-
and OER processes.[979–984] The graphene nanosheet with a particles were integrated with graphene sheets via a solution-
high specific surface area can provide an excellent substrate based technique and utilized as effective electrocatalyst for the
for hosting and growing functional nanomaterials for high- ORR in Zn–air batteries (Figure 42).[986] Figure 42a,b showed
performance Zn–air batteries. In fact, novel graphene-based the uniform distribution of Mn3O4 nanoparticles in the gra-
bifunctional air-breathing cathode materials have been con- phene matrix. Figure 42c exhibited that the lattice spacing
sidered as a promising electrocatalystic activity that would indeed corresponded to the crystalline Mn3O4. The combina-
significantly reduce the overpotential and enhance the tion of ionic liquid, Mn3O4 nanoparticles, and GNS enhanced
cyclic stability toward the realization of rechargeable Zn–air the ORR electrocatalytic activity for Zn–air batteries as shown
batteries. in Figure 42d,e, indicating their considerably high catalytic
activity for Zn–air batteries.[986]
Recently, experimental observations and theoretical calcula-
tions revealed that heteroatoms (e.g., N or/and P, B, S)-doped
carbon materials could serve as efficient metal-free elec-
trocatalysts for ORR as the result of their unique electronic
properties, which are derived from the heteroatom-induced
charge transfer and delocalization.[987–990] Similar reports
on N-graphene electrode showed 60% higher discharge cur-
rent and voltage in a Zn–air system, as well as 42% capacity
increase over pure carbon black cathodes in a Zn–air
system.[991] In another study, Prabu and co-workers anchored
CoMn2O4 nanoparticles on N-doped graphene sheets and
used it as electrocatalyst for rechargeable Zn–air batteries.[992]
The N-graphene/CoMn2O4 nanocomposites were reversibly
discharged/charged for several cycles with a good capacity
retention in pure O2 environment.[992] The improved perfor-
mance was assigned to the synergistic effect of covalently
coupling between N-graphene and CoMn2O4 nanoparticles.
Further explorations in ambient air environment also showed
Figure 41. A schematic diagram shows the operation of rechargeable outstanding discharge and charge performance and main-
aprotic Zn–air battery. Reproduced with permission.[978] Copyright 2014, tained good cycle stability for over 200 cycles.[978] The unique
American Chemical Society. structural, morphological, and electrocatalytic properties of
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Review
Figure 42. IL-modified rGO (rGO-IL) nanosheets anchoring Mn3O4 as efficient electrocatalysts for Zn–air batteries. a) SEM image, b) TEM image, and
c) HR-TEM images of Mn3O4 nanoparticles with the inset showing the corresponding SAED pattern. d) Polarization curve in a zinc–air cell. e) Power
density plot of (black) rGO–IL/Mn3O4 (2:1), (red) rGO–IL/Mn3O4 (10:1), (blue) 20% Pt/C, and (green) commercial cathode at current densities ranging
from 0 to 200 mA cm−2. Reproduced with permission.[986] Copyright 2011, Royal Society of Chemistry.
N-graphene/CoMn2O4 hybrid electrodes may be a promising 10. Vanadium Redox Flow Battery
candidate for future Zn–air battery applications.[978] Other
graphene or graphene-based nanocomposites, such as highly Vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) technology has attracted
active graphene,[993] N-graphene/Co3O4 nanoparticles,[994] N,S- tremendous attention due to their high storage capacity, high
co-doped graphene/CoS2,[995] N/S-co-doped graphene micro efficiency, high reliability, long cycle life, and cost effective-
wires,[996] and graphene/LaMn1−xCoxO3,[997] have also been ness.[7,8,998–1005] The VRFB stores energy in the form of two
synthesized and their electrocatalytic properties in Zn–air bat- dissolved redox pairs: V(II)/V(III) and V(IV)/V(V) contained
teries were also evaluated. in external electrolyte tanks. Energy is generated/stored when
Although these recent progresses, there are still several the redox species flow through the electrochemical cell anode
potential problems with these cathode compartments. Some and cathode chambers separated by an ion-exchange (cation
of which include: (i) Mechanical breakdown generated on the or anion) or microporous membrane and undergo electron
catalyst from the air–cathode surface caused by oxygen evo- transfer reactions at inert electrodes (Figure 43).[8] Since the
lution during charging; (ii) atmospheric CO2 can react with redox reactions are reversible, the VRFB can be classified as a
hydroxyl ions to form carbonates; and (iii) formation of dis- secondary battery system.[7,8,998–1001,1006]
charge product ZnO deposit on the surface can lead to a severe
failure of the air cathode, which will limit the lifetime of Zn–air
batteries with large overpotential. In the future, a better under- 10.1. Electrodes
standing of the structure and morphological changes that occur
on a bifunctional air electrode will be necessary and helpful to Graphene promotes a higher rate of ionic adsorption and
further improve the performance. thereby, enhances electrochemical properties in a VRFB
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electrode/electrolyte interfacial resistance thereby improving
Review
both electron and ion transport kinetics.
In another study, 3D graphene nanowall-decorated carbon
felts (CF) were synthesized via an in situ microwave plasma
by enhanced CVD method and used as positive electrode for
VRFB.[1021] The carbon fibers in CF were successfully wrapped
by vertically grown graphene nanowalls, which not only
increased the electrode specific area, but also exposed a high
density of sharp graphene edges with good catalytic activities
for the vanadium ions.[1021] As a result, the VRFB with this
novel electrode showed three times higher reaction rate toward
VO2+/VO2+ redox couple and 11% increased energy efficiency
over VRFB with an unmodified CF electrode.[1021] Additionally,
the designed electrode architecture showed excellent stability
in the battery operation. After 100 charging/discharging cycles,
the electrode not only showed no observable morphology
changes, but also can be reused in another battery and prac-
Figure 43. Schematic of an all VRFB as an example of redox flow bat- tically exhibited the same performance. It is believed that this
teries. Reproduced with permission.[8] Copyright 2011, American Chem- novel structure including the synthesis procedure will provide a
ical Society. new direction for the VRFB electrode development.[1021]
system.[1002,1007–1009] For example, graphene-based materials 10.2. Membrane Separators

obtained from thermally reduced graphite oxides are used
as active electrodes in the positive half-cell of VRFB with out- In addition to be used as electrochemical catalysts, graphene
standing electrochemical performance in terms of peak cur- nanostructured materials, including sulfonated polyimide
rent densities and reversibility.[1010,1011] The rGO composite (SPI) and zwitterionic polymer-functionalized GO (ZGO),[1022]
that contains defects at both edges have been used to improve sulfonated polyimide (SPI) with polyethyleneimine-function-
electrocatalytic activity towards vanadium redox couples (V2+/ alized rGO (PEI-rGO),[1023] sulfonated poly(ether ether ketone)
V3+ and VO2+/VO2+).[1012] GO with polymer binders also exhib- (SPEEK)/GO,[1024] and GO/Nafion composite membrane,[1025]
ited superior electrocatalytic activity for vanadium bromide with tuned physicochemical properties (e.g., vanadium ion
RFB.[1013] Graphene-supported monometallic (Pt) and bime- barrier and proton transport pathway), have also been used to
tallic (CuPt3) materials have shown to improve the VO2+/VO2+ fabricate hybrid membranes for VRFB. These graphene-based
redox process.[1014] RuSe/rGO can significantly alleviate the materials showed high ion selectivity and excellent chemical
polarization and improve the reversibility of VO2+/VO2+ redox stability under the strong acidic and oxidizing conditions. For
couples in VRFB, by virtue of the excellent catalytic activity and instance, the hybrid SPI/ZGO membrane reported higher cell
electronic conductivity.[1015] Ir-decorated graphene in VRFB efficiencies (CE: 92%–98%, EE: 65%–79%) than commercial
showed improved electrocatalytic activity and reversibility due Nafion 117 membrane (CE: 89%–94%, EE: 59%–70%) for VRB
to high surface area for electrolyte penetration and strong application at 30–80 mA cm−2 and displayed a stable cycling
affinity of Ir/vanadium-oxygen ions facilitating ion and elec- performance over 280 cycles.[1022] The novel acid-based hybrid
tron transport.[1016] N-graphene sheets have also been used as SPI/PEI-rGO membranes exhibited higher coulombic efficiency
positive electrodes in VRFB.[1017] The N-doped graphene exhib- (CE, 95%) and energy efficiency (EE, 75.6%) at 40 mA cm−2.[1022]
ited low electron transfer (ET) resistance and high reversibility The self-discharge time of the VRB with SPI/PEI-rGO hybrid
indicating high catalytic activity. The N-doped rGO/Mn3O4 membrane (80 h) was longer than that of commercially avail-
composites show significantly higher electrocatalytic activity for able Nafion 117 membrane (26 h). After 100 charge/discharge
VO2+/VO2+ electrochemistry than those of the individual com- cycles, SPI/PEI-rGO membrane exhibited good stability under
ponents due to synergy between Mn3O4 and the carbonaceous strong oxidizing and acid condition.[1023] The VRFB assembled
support material.[1018] These results open new avenues for the with the SPEEK/GO composite membrane exhibited highly
fabrication of electrocatalysts using other heteroatoms such as improved cell parameters and strikingly long cycling sta-
P, B, or S with graphene.[1019] bility compared with commercial Nafion 117 membrane.[1024]
The GO/MWCNT hybrid materials are synthesized using With the protection of porous PTFE substrate, the pore-filling
electrostatic spray technique have shown improved revers- SPEEK/GO composite membrane based on VRFB ran for 1200
ibility in VO2+/VO2+ redox couples.[1020] A schematic of the cycles with relatively low capacity decline.
electrospray process and material architecture are shown in Although energy storage in VRFB is inexpensive and effi-
Figure 44a,b.[1020] The fibrous architectures are clearly seen in cient and graphene-based materials also show brilliant perspec-
the TEM images. Specifically, hybrid materials exhibited high tive for VRFB application, they are still in the early stage of
anodic and cathodic current densities (Figure 44c) at a high development. VRFB requires further advancement to improve
current density ratio of 1.2 even at a 100 mV s−1 scan rate the specific energy density as well as energy management of
(Figure 44d).[1020] The hybrid architecture efficiently reduces the the entire system. It is also worthwhile to look at new materials,
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Review
Figure 44. a) A schematic of the electro-spray technique used to fabricate e-sprayed GO/MWCNTs hybrid on a glass carbon electrode (GCE). b) E-sprayed
GO/MWNTs hybrid on a GCE. c) CV curves of GO/MWCNTs hybrid at different scan rates in 2 mol L−1 VOSO4 + 2 mol L−1 H2SO4; and d) Curves of
Ipa/Ipc as a function of scan rate for VO2+/VO2+ redox couples. Reproduced with permission.[1020] Copyright 2011, Royal Society of Chemistry.
electrolyte, and electrode designs for further progress of VRFB Second, the high surface area of graphene-based materials
technology. plays an important role in supercapacitors and H2 storage.
Specifically, different types of graphene-based nanocompos-
ites, such as graphene/transitional metal oxide (hydroxide),
11. Conclusions and Perspectives graphene/transition metal nitrides (or sulfide), and graphene–
polymer nanocomposites can give rise to twofold advantages,
In this article, we have discussed the recent research progress due to the fact that the combination of high surface area of gra-
in graphene and graphene-based nanocomposites for energy phene (EDLC) and pseudocapacitative behavior of these poly-
storage systems. Although a significant progress has been mers/metal oxides (hydroxides, nitrides or sulfides) can result
made, their tremendous potentials for practical applications in a tremendous improvement of the capacitance. Although
in advanced energy storage systems still needs further explo- graphene by itself cannot be utilized for H2 uptake, the use of
rations.[208,1026–1028] First, the development of graphene and graphene-based nanocomposites and doped graphene can lead
graphene-based nanocomposites for different energy storage- to a high H2 uptake, much closer to the DOE targets. Despite
related applications are still in early stage where fundamental the great advances in the development of H2 storage and super-
gaps exist to understand the atomic and molecular level pro- capacitor systems, there is still room for materials’ structure
cesses that govern operation, limitations and failure of the and composition optimizations and for further performance
devices.[22–38,208,1027] Therefore, multidisciplinary approaches are improvements.
necessary to better understand the correlation between electro- Li-based chemistries have high energy densities and are
chemistry, materials science, engineering, microstructures, prop- considered the primary choice for electronic energy storage.
erties, and interactions to overcome the significant challenges It is highly desirable to use graphene or graphene nanocom-
facing these energy storage systems. These approaches will lead posites as potential electrode materials for rechargeable Li-ion
to the efficient use of large but transient energy sources such as batteries. Anode systems would benefit from graphene-based
solar and wind necessary to solve the worldwide critical energy material due to its high conductivity, high surface area and
issues that are heading the list of global challenges.[22–38,1027] 2D sheet-like architecture. Specifically, the high electronic
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conductivity of graphene leads to improved rate performance (Figure 45b).[1030] This innovative cell configuration and novel
Review
and power density of the Li-ion battery anode. The high sur- strategy open a new avenue to make good use graphene in a
face area of graphene can either accommodate more Li ions Li-metal batteries.
or host other materials when used in composites, which can Graphene-based materials have also been used for coating
help improve the capacity and energy density. The 2D archi- PP membrane separators to stabilize the Li electrode in Li-
tecture is very important since it can significantly improve metal batteries by effectively suppressing dendrite growth and
the material tap density when the sheets are stacked parallel maintaining a uniform ionic flux on the metal surface.[1031]
to each other and are more viable for commercialization. Gra- It was reported that the unique graphene layers can effec-
phene can also manage the interfacial instability when it is tively act as stable interfacial layers to stabilize pure Li metal
introduced as an interfacial layer between the current collector anode due to the remarkable stability, mechanical strength,
and the anode material, which can help improve the cycling and flexibility of graphene.[1032] In addition, these coated uni-
capability of Li-ion batteries.[1029] form graphene layers also helped improve the dimensional
The use of graphene as an additive for cathode materials stability of the polymer membrane separator at elevated
can also help improve the electrochemical performance of the temperatures.[1031]
Li-ion battery. Graphene can act as efficient electron transport The use of graphene and graphene-based nanocomposites
pathways, hence improving the electron transport between the has been also extensively explored as electrodes in Na-ion bat-
current collector and the cathode active material. This can help teries. Graphene composites-based anodes have shown prom-
reduce the internal resistance of the battery and enhance the ising electrochemical behavior, good cycle life, and excellent
output power. Additionally, the excellent mechanical properties rate capability. Such remarkable performance can be attributed
of graphene phases are of great benefit to the structure stability to the presence of defects (e.g., residual oxygen-containing
of cathode materials and this can lead to improved cyclic sta- groups). However, the presence of defects represents a serious
bility and rate capability. drawback in terms of Coulombic efficiency for Na-ion batteries.
Li–S and Li–air batteries have attracted great attention as Similarly to Li-ion batteries, graphene-based nanocomposites
potential successors to Li-ion batteries due to their exception- enable Na-ion batteries with higher specific capacity, better rate
ally high specific energy and energy density compared to the capability, and longer cycle life than the pristine electrode. So
state-of-the-art Li-ion technology. However, both of these new far, only a few reports are available on the use of graphene-
battery technologies suffer from poor cycle stability and low based composites as cathodes for Na-ion batteries. In all cases,
rate capability, which limit their practical applications. Gra- the graphene or rGO matrix seems to enhance the electrical
phene and graphene-based nanocomposites, with their high conductivity of the composite and improve the rate capability
surface area and enhanced catalytic properties, are considered compared to the non-graphene contained cathode materials.
to be the key potential materials to advance Li–S and Li–air Graphene and graphene-based nanocomposites have also
technologies and to achieve a long standing performance for been used as air electrodes in Na–air, Zn–air batteries, and as
practical applications. In fact, graphene serves as a porous active electrodes in VRFBs with aim to improve their electro-
backbone for supporting S to improve the conductivity and chemical performance. Similar to Li–air batteries, Na–air and
hold polysulfide products formed during the discharge process Zn–air batteries have several technical hurdles, which hamper
in Li–S batteries. Similarly, the graphene’s porosity, conduction their potential applications. Although VRFBs are very prom-
and defect sites can help promote oxygen diffusion and selec- ising for practical applications, current electrodes and mem-
tive Li2O2 deposition during the discharge process in Li–air branes do not exhibit satisfactory electrochemical properties
batteries. and also suffer from relatively high costs. Graphene and gra-
However, the practical applications of Li–S/Li–air batteries phene-based nanocomposites show remarkable catalytic prop-
are limited because pure Li metal anode is used in both sys- erties towards ORR and OER processed in these metal–air bat-
tems, which can cause the corrosion of Li metal anode and can tery systems though there are a few reports available on the use
also promote dendrite formation, hence leading to performance of graphene/composites in these systems. These technologies
degradation and/or device failure as well as safety issues. If a are in the very early stage of development and more work is
viable solution for the safe use of Li metal anode can be formu- needed for further explorations. Graphene-based materials
lated, a high energy density can be achieved in rechargeable Li can also be used to improve the electrical conductivity, kinetic
metal batteries including Li–S and Li–air systems. reversibility, and electrocatalytic activity of electrodes in VRFBs.
A solution of the Li dendrite formation problem in Li-metal Additionally, GO and commercial graphene have recently been
batteries may be the novel cell configurations reported by Jang tested as additives in VRFB ion-exchange membranes, with the
and co-workers (Figure 45a).[1030] In their new designs, both the aim of reducing the vanadium permeation and preventing ionic
cathode and anode were coated with graphene sheets having cross-mixing. The results achieved so far seem to be promising
ultra high surface areas. This graphene composite architec- when compared to those obtained with bare membranes. How-
ture dramatically increased the electrode surface areas and ever, the development of a successful commercial VRFB con-
decreased the effective electrode current density. As a result, taining graphene is still far away.
the dendrite initiation time is delayed and dendrite growth rate Unlike Li and Na, Mg and Al can be safely used as metallic
is significantly reduced. The “intercalation-free operation” ena- anodes because their repetitive plating proceeds without den-
bles a fast discharge/charge time with a high energy density drite formations, they are non-toxic, and do not degrade in air
and specific power of about 320 Wh Wkg−1 and 187 kW kg−1, environment.[1033] Owing to these unique properties, recharge-
respectively, (Figure 45c) along with excellent long-term stability able Mg-ion and Al-ion batteries have attracted great attentions
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Review
Figure 45. a) The upper portion shows the structure of a Li–graphene cell containing an optional anode current collector and a graphene layer acting
as an extended current collector, a porous separator, a liquid electrolyte, and a porous graphene nanostructure acting as a cathode active material. The
lower portion shows the structure of this cell after its first discharge. b) Cycling performance of a Li–graphene cell at 0.3C. c) Ragone plot of various
Li–graphene cells (high power cells) and Li–vanadium oxide cells (high energy cells). Reproduced with permission.[1030] Copyright 2012, Royal Society
of Chemistry.
as emerging low-cost and high energy density technologies for electrochemical storage device with high charge storage capacity
large-scale renewable energy storage applications.[1034] However, and have the potential to further increase energy/power densi-
the development of these batteries is hindered by the limited ties and reduce the associated costs. For example, the combina-
choice of high-performance electrode materials.[1034] Recent tion of Mg with S could offer a theoretical energy density of over
developments of graphene-based nanocomposites may help 3200 Wh L−1.[1038] Theoretically, Al–air battery contains approxi-
open a new avenue for the design of new electrodes for Mg-ion mately half specific energy (8100 Wh kg−1) and three times
and Al-ion batteries with high energy densities and improved energy density (21 870 Wh L−1) of gasoline.[1039] Compared to
electrochemcial behaviors. However, it remains a challenge to the substantial progress made on Li–S and Li–air batteries,
achieve such a goal at this time. Research efforts have been Mg–S, Mg–air batteries, and Al–S, Al–air batteries are still at
recently made to explore the use of graphene and graphene the concept level of research and development. Recently, many
composites as electrode materials for Mg-ion batteries.[1035–1037] efforts have been made to develop new electrolytes (for Mg and
Although the results showed poor electrochemcial performance, Al battery systems) that, are stable in contact with the electrode
they are considered the first attempts to use graphene com- materials, do not form a blocking layer and have a wide elec-
posites in Mg-ion batteries.[1035–1037] We believe that graphene trochemical window. In addition, current multivalent metal-
and graphene nanocomposites may find their true role as good sulfur batteries also suffer from low utilization of active mate-
composite electrodes for Mg and Al batteries. This needs con- rials (S or transitional metal sulfides), low coulombic efficiency,
sistent investigation and commitment from researchers to and rapid capacity loss on repeated discharging/charging.[1040]
develop graphene-based electrodes with good electrochemcial These problems are traceable to the low electronic conductivity
stabilities. The research in the field of these two multivalent (insulating nature) of S and to the high solubility of the long-
metal-ion batteries is still in the early stage and more work is chain polysulfide ions in organic solvent-based electrolytes. The
needed for improvement. major challenges currently facing the widespread use of most
In addition, a rechargeable battery that combines S or O2 at multivalent metal–air batteries are the limited energy efficiency
the cathode and a multivalent metal (e.g., Mg or Al) at the anode that results from the huge overpotential/polarization losses at
could provide perhaps the most promising path to a rechargeable the cathode during continued discharging/charging.[1041] The
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use of graphene and graphene-based composites in these sys- areas and the details of these topics are beyond of the scope of
Review
tems would solve some of the problems that limit their per- this review and we refer the reader to the associated references.
formance and stabilities. For example, the use of a graphene-S Nevertheless, strong emphasis is particularly necessary to the
composite-based cathode, with high surface area, ubiquitous fundamental understanding of various composite materials for
porous morphology, very high electronic conductivity and the each specific application.
presence of oxygen functional group, along with a non-nucle-
ophilic Mg electrolyte, led to improved performance of Mg–S
batteries.[1042] It is expected that graphene-based materials Acknowledgement
may also play vital roles in future Mg–air, Al–S and Al–air bat-
tery developments. In addition to the aforementioned energy M.A. acknowledges the support from NSF PREM award (DMR-1523577):
storage applications, graphene-based nanocomposites may also UTRGV-UMN Partnership for Fostering Innovation by Bridging
Excellence in Research and Student Success.
be used in other energy storage systems such as rechargeable
Na–S batteries,[1043] rechargeable potassium (K),[1044,1045] and Received: November 1, 2015
rechargeable calcium (Ca) batteries.[1046,1047] Revised: March 29, 2016
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Graphene-Based Nanocomposites For Energy Storage

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Graphene-Based Nanocomposites for Energy Storage

energy storage devices.[2,4,5,7–16] Superca-

exfoliation, thermal decomposition of silicon carbide (SiC),

to its high electronic and protonic conductivities as well as high

3.4. Graphene/Carbon Nanocomposites

graphene and graphene/electrochemically

active material-based nanocomposites for

4.1.2. Porous Graphene

Compared with pure graphene sheet, porous

Materials Electrochemical performance

1545.7 mAh g−1 at 40 cycles

10C charge and 20C discharge rates for

1000 cycles, the capacity decay was only

5. Li–S Batteries active materials: a Li metal anode (theoretical specific capacity:

the oxidation of Li: Li → Li+ + e− (i), while the

graphene-based nanocomposites in Li–S batteries. porous graphene-S nanocomposites,[663,694–704] and involving

Graphene can ideally trap S, restrict polysulfide dissolution 5.2. GO or rGO/S

Li polysulfides, and only strong beneficial

surface polar and/or acid site interactions

5.8. Graphene (or rGO)-Modified Separators for Li–S Batteries

electrostatic interactions.[754] Such electro-

Table 3. Examples of different graphene-based nanocomposites for Li–S batteries reported in

Cathode materials Energy efficiency Electrochemical performance

7. Na-Ion Batteries therefore it is necessary to design anode materials that meet

these requirements. Na metal cannot be directly used as

7.1.2. Porous Graphene-Based Anodes

Materials Electrochemical performance

Na3/2Fe1/2Mn1/2O2@graphene[953] A reversible capacity of 156 mA g−1

Fe2(MoO4)3/rGO nanocomposite [954]

NaVPO4F/graphene[955] A discharge capacity of 118 mAh g−1 after 50 cycles at 0.05C

FeF3/rGO composite [956]

GNS/VOx[959] A capacity of 224 mAh g−1 after 50 cycles at 200 mA g−1

FeF3.xH2O/graphene[961] A reversible capacity of 101 mAh g−1 after 30 cycles at 0.1C

Na3V2O2(PO4)2F@ carbon/graphene[962] A reversible capacity of 112.1 mAh g−1 after 40 cycles at 1C

electrode/electrolyte interfacial resistance thereby improving

system.[1002,1007–1009] For example, graphene-based materials 10.2. Membrane Separators

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