Microwave assisted synthesis of rGO/ZnO composites for non-enzymatic glucose sensing and supercapacitor applications

Zinc oxide (ZnO) and Graphene Oxide (GO) are known to show good electrochemical properties. In this paper, rGO/ZnO nanocomposites have been synthesised using a simple microwave assisted method. The nanocomposites are characterized using XRD, Raman, SEM and TEM. XRD reveals the wurtzite structure of ZnO and TEM shows the heterogeneous nucleation of ZnO nanocrystals anchored onto graphene sheets. The electrochemical properties of the rGO/ZnO nanocomposite enhanced significantly for applications in glucose sensors and supercapacitors. The non-enzymatic glucose sensor of this nanocomposite tested using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and chronoamperometry, exhibits high sensitivity (39.78 mA cm−2 mM−1) and a lower detection limit of 0.2 nM. The supercapacitor electrode of rGO/ZnO nanocomposite exhibits a significant increase in specific capacitance.