Influence of synthesized functionalized reduced graphene oxide aerogel with 4,4′-methylenedianiline as reducing agent on electrochemical and pseudocapacitance performance of poly orthoaminophenol electroactive film

Abstract

In this work, firstly, reduced graphene oxide aerogel (F-rGO Aerogel) were synthesized via chemical routes. Here, we decide to report the first research work for studying the effect of 4,4′-methylenedianiline as reducing agent on the supercapacitive behavior of the prepared graphene aerogels. The structural and valance state of the prepared samples were characterized by FT-IR, Raman, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), BET, X-ray diffraction (XRD), field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Then, poly ortho aminophenol (POAP) was introduced into the channels of F-rGO Aerogel to achieve a synergistic effect and significantly increase the volumetric capacitance. F-rGO Aerogel with a high surface area and pore volume allowed the uniform dispersion of POAP within their channels in nanoscale dimensions Moreover, POAP could function not only as an active pseudocapacitive material that facilitated energy storage but also as a proton transport media that promoted a rapid protonation/deprotonation process during the redox reaction in the internal channels. As a result, POAP/F-rGO composites, even with a poor pore structure, delivered a high specific capacitance of 8100 mF.cm−2 at 5 mA.cm−2 and an excellent rate performance of 87% at current densities ranging from 1.0 to 10 mA.cm−2. In addition, POAP/ F-rGO Aerogel composites exhibited good cycling stability, retaining 88% of the capacitance after 1000 charge/discharge cycles at 5 mA.cm−2, owing to the high mechanical strength of the F-rGO Aerogel. Therefore, this synthesis strategy could provide an efficient and scalable solution for the development of supercapacitor electrode materials.