High performance symmetric reduced graphene oxide/polyaniline/tellurium supercapacitor electrodes

Abstract

The aim of this work is to overcome the problem of agglomeration and volumetric changes observed in reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and polyaniline (PANI) nanocomposites responsible for inferior capacitive performance. The synergistic effect of optimized rGO, PANI and tellurium (Te) ternary nanocomposite was investigated for the electrochemical performances for the energy storage devices. For this purpose, the electrochemical test was performed at low molar 0.1M H2SO4 concentration of aqueous electrolyte in a two-electrode cell assembly. The electrochemical studies showed that the specific capacitance of 564F g−1 is attained in rGO/PANI nanocomposite electrode cell whose capacitive performance showed an increase by adding different concentration of Te. The maximum specific capacitance of 895 F g−1 at 10 mV s−1 was observed in rGO/PANI/Te50 (GPT50) with negligible charge transfer resistance, knee frequency ∼466.63 Hz, low response time ∼17.39 s, high coulombic efficiency ∼92% and high energy and power densities of 41 −1 and 3679 −1 with cyclic stability of ∼91% after 5000 GCCD cycles respectively. The electrochemical performances result of the electrode material indicated that the combination of Te with rGO and PANI can be used to enhance the supercapacitor performances of the rGO/PANI nanocomposite electrodes. This novel composition has overall improved the electrochemical studies of the electrode materials and thus can be used as a suitable candidate for supercapacitor devices.