Improving Performance and Cyclability of Zinc–Silver Oxide Batteries by Using Graphene as a Two Dimensional Conductive Additive

In this article, the use of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) as a high-surface-area conductive additive for enhancing zinc–silver oxide (Zn-Ag2O) batteries is reported for the first time. Specific capacity, rate capability and cyclability are all improved with the addition of 5% thermally reduced graphene oxide to the electrode. It is shown that the rGO morphology becomes more beneficial as the active materials tend toward the nanoscale. The combination results in a better utilization of the active material, which in turn improves the specific capacity of the zinc–silver oxide batteries by ca. 50%, as a result of the more intimate contact with the nano (∼50 nm) electrode particles. The resulting rGO network also creates a high-surface-area conducting template for ZnO electrodeposition upon discharge, significantly reducing the overall particle size of the ZnO deposit, thus inhibiting the formation of dendrites, and increasing the number of achievable cycles from 4 to >160 with a basic cellulose separator. The morphology of the electrodes and its electrochemical parameters are studied as a function of cycling.