Design and construction of low resistance copper doped polyaniline electrode with ultrahigh loading density for high performance supercapacitor applications

Abstract

Polyaniline is a promising material for the development of high performance flexible supercapacitor devices. However, the loose structure of polyaniline materials and the high intermolecular transport impedance between molecular chains remain significant technical barriers, particularly at high loading density. In this study, we developed a copper ion doped polyaniline electrode (Cu-PANI@CC) on carbon cloth using a simple one-step in-situ electrochemical deposition method. The structure and electrochemical properties of this electrode were investigated via different testing techniques. Benefiting from the catalysis and regulation of copper ions between PANI molecular chains, the electrode demonstrated a relatively low internal resistance at high loading densities (> 10 mg cm−2). Moreover, this electrode exhibited specific capacitance of 3.49 F cm−2 at 5 mA cm−2 and capacitance retention of 83.31% at 50 mA cm−2. Two Cu-PANI@CC electrodes were used to fabricate a symmetrical capacitor, which exhibited remarkable cycling stability and wide operating temperature range. The excellent electrochemical performance of the Cu-PANI@CC electrode highlights the potential for use in high-performance supercapacitor devices.