Synthesis of reduced graphene oxide nanosheetsupported agglomerated cobalt oxide nanoparticles and their enhanced electron field emission properties

In this work, the field emission properties were demonstrated of reduced graphene oxide nanosheets (rGO-NSs) containing agglomerated Co3O4 nanoparticles (rGO-Co3O4) synthesized by a one-step microwave approach. Structural investigation indicates that the as-synthesized rGO-Co3O4 composite contains agglomerated Co3O4 nanoparticles on the surface of rGO-NSs. The field emission properties of the rGO-Co3O4 composite were investigated. The results indicate that the rGO-Co3O4 composite has excellent field emission performance, with turn-on field of 2.6 V mu m(-1), threshold field of 3.1 V mu m(-1), and a field enhancement factor of 3161.8. Furthermore, the emission current shows stability over 400 min of continuous operation. The synthesized rGO-Co3O4 composite has potential for application in field emission devices. This enhancement of field emission properties was investigated based on the surface morphology of the self-assembled nanostructures.