Solvothermal Preparation and Electrochemical Characterization of Cubic ZrO2 Nanoparticles/Highly Reduced Graphene (HRG) based Nanocomposites
A single-step solvothermal approach to prepare stabilized cubic zirconia (ZrO2)
nanoparticles (NPs) and highly reduced graphene oxide (HRG) and ZrO2 nanocomposite
(HRG@ZrO2) using benzyl alcohol as a solvent and stabilizing ligand is presented. The as-prepared
ZrO2 NPs and the HRG@ZrO2 nanocomposite were characterized using transmission electron
microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), which confirmed the formation of ultra-small, cubic
phase ZrO2 NPs with particle sizes of ~2 nm in both reactions. Slight variation of reaction conditions,
including temperature and amount of benzyl alcohol, significantly affected the size of resulting NPs.
The presence of benzyl alcohol as a stabilizing agent on the surface of ZrO2 NPs was confirmed
using various techniques such as ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis), Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR),
Raman and XPS spectroscopies and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). Furthermore, a comparative
electrochemical study of both as-prepared ZrO2 NPs and the HRG@ZrO2 nanocomposites is reported.
The HRG@ZrO2 nanocomposite confirms electronic interactions between ZrO2 and HRG when
compared their electrochemical studies with pure ZrO2 and HRG using cyclic voltammetry (CV).
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