Microwave-assisted green synthesis of graphene derivatives and their composites with zirconium dioxide: structural, optical and electrochemical characterization
摘要
This research reports the synthesis of graphene oxide (GO), reduced graphene oxide (rGO), and composites of zirconium dioxide with rGO (ZrO2/rGO) using a microwave-assisted, plant-mediated green synthesis approach. Plant extract of Ocimum tenuiflorum (OT) and Azadirachta indica (AI). The synthesized materials were systematically characterized for their morphological, vibrational, optical, structural, and electrochemical characteristics. XRD analysis confirmed structural modifications upon reduction: the interlayer spacing (d) decreased from 0.85 nm in GO to 0.60 nm in AI-derived rGO (NR) and 0.726 nm in OT-derived rGO (TR), while crystallite size (D) reduced from 7.477 nm (GO) to 1.289 nm (NR) and 3.690 nm (TR). For the composites, OT-derived ZrO2/rGO (T-ZR) exhibited a D of 0.499 nm, which is smaller than AI-derived ZrO2/rGO (N-ZR. 0.547 nm. Comparative cyclic voltammetry (CV) analysis has demonstrated specific capacitance (CS) for the N-ZR (756.63 Fg− 1) compared to N-ZR (251.83 Fg− 1) and pristine GO (2.95 Fg− 1) at a scan rate of 5 mVs− 1.