Fabrication of 3-dimensional porous graphene foams using chemical vapor deposition and its electrochemical application

Abstract

A new and simple method to prepare three-dimensional (3D) graphene foams is developed by using 3D Ni nanowire foams as a catalyst for chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Synthesized Ni nanowires by reduction of Ni ions under an applied magnetic field were assembled into 3D film by filtrating bulk Ni nanowire solution or pressing and additional CVD process was conducted to grow the graphene on the 3D Ni nanowire foams at a lower temperature of 670℃ than conventional growth temperatures around 1000℃. The resulting 3D gra-phene exhibits higher electrical conductivity (17.46 S/cm) and higher specific surface area (145.32 m2/g) due to its highly dense and interconnected structure with several micron scale pores. Electrochemical performance of 3D graphene foams as electrodes for capacitor showed ideal electrical-double layer behavior with good electrochemical stability. We believe that our 3D graphene foams have the potential to be applied to improve the performance of various applications such as freestanding electrode or conductive porous support for en-ergy storage and catalyst system.