New Avenue for Appendage of Graphene Quantum Dots on Halloysite Nanotubes as Anode Materials for High Performance Supercapacitors

Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) are a newly developed graphene family with good electrical conductivity and high theoretical capacitance, while halloysite nanotubes (HNTs) are naturally occurring layered mineral materials containing high active sites for energy storage support. The combination of HNTs and GQDs can offer a new strategy on the fabrication of eco-friendly electrode materials for high performance supercapacitor applications. Herein, an environmentally friendly GQD-HNT nanocomposite is fabricated in the presence of (3-aminopropyl)-triethoxysilane to provide increased charge storage sites as well as to allow for the fast charge transport for supercapacitor application. Morphological and surface analytical results show that 5–10 nm GQDs are homogeneously distributed on the surface of APTES-coated HNTs via amide linkage. This new and novel layered nanocomposite can provide accessible electroactive sites and low resistance to accelerate the electrons and electrolyte ion transport, resulting in excellent specific capacitance and high energy density. The specific capacitances of 363–216 F/g at current densities of 0.5–20 A/g are obtained. In addition, the GQD-HNTs exhibit excellent energy density of 30–50 Wh/kg. Results obtained in this study clearly demonstrate the feasibility of using GQD-HNTs as alternative energy storage materials with increased charge storage sites and fast charge transport for high energy density supercapacitor applications.