Industrial redox azo dye enhanced reduced graphene oxide-based supercapacitors

The development of high-performance supercapacitor electrodes is pivotal for advancing next-generation energy storage systems. This study reports a cost-effective heterojunction material, reduced graphene oxide functionalized with the industrial dye Direct Yellow 12 (DY12-rGO-3), leveraging a π-π stacking strategy to achieve synergistic optimization of graphene-based supercapacitor electrode materials. In electrochemical tests using a three-electrode system, DY12-rGO-3 demonstrated a specific capacitance of 420 F g −1 . The fabricated flexible symmetric supercapacitor device achieved a remarkable balance of high energy density (18.3 Wh kg −1 at 799 W kg −1 ) and high power density (14.7 Wh kg −1 at 16 kW kg −1 ), along with excellent rate capability and cycling stability. This study provides an innovative approach for developing highly stable and high-energy-density flexible energy storage devices, highlighting the unique advantages of non-covalent functionalization strategies in the design of graphene-based materials.