Laser In-Situ synthesis of metallic cobalt decorated porous graphene for flexible In-Plane microsupercapacitors.

[Display omitted] • Synchronous preparation of cobalt nanoparticles decorated graphene electrodes through laser scribing. • A novel approach to fabricate metal particles decorated LIG electrodes for flexible MSCs. • The optimized MSCs exhibit dramatically improved electrochemical performance. • The devices exhibit outstanding potential for practical applications. • DFT calculations theoretically illustrate the influence of cobalt decoration. Transition metal nanoparticles-graphene nanocomposites incorporate the advantages of graphene and metal nanoparticles, which arouse extensive attention. Here, we design a novel, facile and versatile method for in-situ synthesis of laser-induced porous graphene (LIG) decorated with cobalt particles (Co). The LIG/Co nanocomposites are fabricated through one-step laser direct scribing on a customized film composed of polyimide (PI) powder, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and cobalt chloride (CoCl 2 ·6H 2 O) precursors. Benefiting from the unique properties of Co nanoparticles embedded LIG, the obtained optimal in-plane micro-supercapacitors (IMSC) based on LIG/Co-1.5 possesses an excellent areal capacitance of 110.11 mF cm−2 and a superior energy density of 9.79 μWh cm−2, which are about 79 times that of pure LIG-based IMSCs. Simultaneously, the LIG/Co-1.5 MSCs also present good cycling stability, remarkable modular integration capability, and outstanding mechanical flexibility, showing potential for practical applications. Additionally, the density functional theory (DFT) calculations indicate that the decorating of cobalt particles elevates electron transfer. Moreover, the interaction between electrolyte and electrodes is also improved with the introduction of cobalt particles. Therefore, this strategy offers a new avenue for facile and large-scale manufacturing of various metallic atoms in-situ decorating in porous graphene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]