Samaria/reduced graphene oxide nanocomposites; sonochemical synthesis and electrochemical evaluation

Abstract

The advantages of using reduced graphene oxide (RGO) modified with inorganic nanoparticles like the critical improvements they create in electrochemical devices used in energy storage, as well as their catalytic roles and potentials in sensing devices have changed them into a material group of interest. In the light of this importance and regarding the criticality of the synthesis procedure in the preparation of such materials, the current work focuses on the development of a facile route for anchoring samaria nanoparticles on RGO sheets, based on the self-assembly of Sm₂O₃ nanoparticles on RGO through a sonochemical procedure, in an ultrasonic bath. Products of the method were characterized through X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) techniques and it was proven that the distribution of the Sm₂O₃ nanostructures on the RGO sheets was very uniform. Additionally the electrochemical properties of the synthesized Sm₂O₃-RGO nanocomposites toward different probes were evaluated through cyclic voltammetry (CV) technique, revealing that at an optimal Sm₂O₃ loading value the electro-catalytic activity of the nanocomposites was synergistically improved, leading to great impacts on the properties of the electrochemical devices based on the Sm₂O₃-RGO.