One-pot synthesis of phosphorous, iodine atoms co-functionalized graphene for high-performance supercapacitor and flame-retardant applications

There has been extensive research on heteroatom-doped graphene for electrochemical energy storage and flame-retardant (FR) applications. Herein, we used a one-pot method for developing phosphorous, iodine co-doped reduced graphene oxide (PI@rGO) from red phosphorus and iodine via in situ graphene oxide (GO) reduction for supercapacitor and FR applications. In a symmetrical two-electrode cell device, the as-prepared PI@rGO demonstrated good super capacitive performance of 178 F g−1 at a current density of 1.0 A g−1, along with an exceptional energy density of 20 Wh kg−1 and power density of 1791 W kg−1. The as-synthesized PI@rGO demonstrated outstanding cyclic stability at a high current density of 10 A g−1, retaining up to 84 % of its initial capacitance after more than 6000 recurrent charge–discharge cycles. The synthesized PI@rGO showed excellent FR properties toward cotton fabric and sustained cotton fabric up to 337 s with continuous flame exposure. The control cotton fabric was completely burned in 16 s. The synthesized PI@rGO coated cotton fabric showed an excellent value of 39 % limiting oxygen index and residual char length of 2 cm. With the excellent super capacitive performance and FR properties, PI@rGO can be a promising candidate for different applications including supercapacitors and FR products.