PEDOT:PSS-assisted polyindole hollow nanospheres modified carbon cloth as high performance electrochemical capacitor electrodes. (10th September 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhou, Qianjie; Zhu, Danhua; Ma, Xiumei; Mo, Daize; Jiang, Fengxing; Xu, Jingkun; Zhou, Weiqiang
• Is Part Of: Electrochimica acta. Volume 212(2016)
• Page Start: 662
• Page End: 670
• Publication Date: 2016-09-10
• Subjects: Polyindole -- Hollow nanospheres -- PEDOT:PSS -- Supercapacitors -- Chemical oxidative polymerization; Electrochemistry -- Periodicals; Electrochemistry, Industrial -- Periodicals; 541.37
• DOI: 10.1016/j.electacta.2016.07.064
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0013-4686

Abstract

Graphical abstract: Polyindole hollow nanospheres (PIn-NS) were prepared by the chemical oxidative polymerization of indole in the ethanol/H2 O miscible solution without any surfactants. The integrated results show that PIn-NS/CC-PEDOT:PSS exhibits a large specific capacitance of 623 F g −1 at 0.5 A g −1, long cycling life of 84.8% efficiency at 20 A g −1 after 3000 cycles. Moreover, the electrochemical performance of symmetric supercapacitor based on PIn-NS/CC-3 electrode shows a high specific capacitance of 161 F g −1 at 0.5 A g −1 and a very low internal resistance compared to PIn-NS/CC. Highlights: PIn-NS was gotten by the chemical oxidative polymerization in a miscible solution. PEDOT:PSS can significantly improve the electrochemical properties of PIn-NS. PIn-NS/CC-3 shows a cycling efficiency of 84.8% at 20 A g −1 after 3000 cycles. The symmetric supercapacitor based on PIn-NS/CC-3 shows a low internal resistance. Abstract: The poor conductivity of polyindole (PIn) is a major factor to limit its application in supercapacitors. To solve the problem, a simple and efficient immersion method designed to obtain a binary nanocomposite, which composed of polyindole hollow nanospheres (PIn-NS) and poly(3, 4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS). PIn-NS with diameters of 300–600 nm and shell thickness of about 50 nm were prepared by the chemical oxidative polymerization of indole in the ethanol/H2 O miscible solution using ammonium peroxydisulfate (APS) as oxidant agent without any surfactants. The pure PIn-NS modified carbon cloth (PIn-NS/CC) shows a low specific capacitance of 110 F g −1 at 0.5 A g −1 in 1.0 M H2 SO4 aqueous solution. By the immersion of PIn-NS/CC in PEDOT:PSS/ethanol solution, the obtained PIn-NS/CC-PEDOT:PSS shows a large improved specific capacitance of 623 F g −1 at 0.5 A g −1 and good stability with a cycling efficiency of 84.8% after 3000 cycles. The results demonstrate that the electrochemical properties of PIn-NS can be significantly improved with the assistance of PEDOT:PSS as electrically conductive connection. In addition, the symmetric PIn-NS/CC-PEDOT:PSS//PIn-NS/CC-PEDOT:PSS supercapacitor showed a high specific capacitance of 161 F g −1 at 0.5 A g −1 and the low equivalent series resistances (ESR) of 4.4 ohm. Therefore, such binary composite is a promising material for application in the next generation high-performance supercapacitors.