Defect and functionalized graphene for supercapacitor electrodes

The structural, electronic and transport properties of defected (single vacancy and double vacancy) and nitrogen functionalized graphene sheets have been analysed within the framework of Density Functional Theory (DFT) and non-equilibrium Green's function (NEGF) formalism for their possible application as supercapacitor electrodes. Formation energy calculations reveal the increasing stability of defect with nitrogen functional doping concentration at its edges. The extracted electronic properties reveal the presence of acceptor-type energy levels at Fermi level in the defected and functionalized sheets. Transport studies portray remarkable increase in electrical conductivity of graphene sheet after the formation of single vacancy defect and its functionalization. Especially, the Single Vacancy Trimerized pyridine-type defect (SVT) configuration has demonstrated superior thermodynamic stability as well as electrical conductance in comparison to all the other configurations. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.