Facile synthesis of self-assembled polyaniline nanorods doped with sulphuric acid for high-performance supercapacitors. (September 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhou, Shi-Xiang; Tao, Xue-Yu; Ma, Jie; Qu, Chun-Hui; Zhou, Yu; Guo, Li-Tong; Feng, Pei-Zhong; Zhu, Ya-Bo; Wei, Xian-Yong
• Is Part Of: Vacuum. Volume 143(2017)
• Page Start: 63
• Page End: 70
• Publication Date: 2017-09
• Subjects: PANI nanorods -- Pseudocapacitor -- Energy storage -- Self-assembly; Vacuum -- Periodicals; 621.55
• DOI: 10.1016/j.vacuum.2017.05.028
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0042-207X

Abstract

Abstract: Polyaniline (PANI) nanorods have been successfully synthesized via a simple self-assembly method without any surfactant or template. Sulphuric acid (SA) and ammonium persulfate ((NH4 )2 S2 O8 ) were used as dopant and oxidant, respectively. The morphologies and structures of the PANI-SA with different [SA]/[aniline] molar ratios were investigated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results indicated that PANI-SA exhibited different morphologies and properties with the change of [SA]/[aniline] molar ratio. PANI-SA with nanorods morphology was obtained with the highest electrical conductivity of 6.65 S cm −1 when the [SA]/[aniline] molar ratio was 10: 1. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic discharge/charge (GDC) were conducted to evaluate the electrochemical performances. The results showed that these PANI-SA nanorods displayed a specific capacitance of 449.1 F g −1 at 1 A g −1 and a capacitance retention of 75.15% after 1000 cycles at 1 A g −1 . The high-performance PANI-SA nanorods pave a way for the production of large-scale, low-cost materials for supercapacitor application. Highlights: Developed a facile route to synthesize PANI nanorods as electrode materials of supercapacitors. PANI exhibited the highest electrical conductivity of 6.65 S cm −1 when the [SA]/[aniline] molar ratio was 10: 1. PANI nanorods displayed the specific capacitance of 449.1 F g −1 and retention of 75.15% after 1000 cycles at 1 A g −1 .