Needle-like polyaniline nanowires on graphite nanofibers: hierarchical micro/nano-architecture for high performance supercapacitors

Abstract

Long, ordered and needle-like polyaniline (PANI) nanowires were grown on graphitized electrospun carbon fibers (GECFs) to prepare PANI/GECF composite cloths as electrode material for supercapacitors. The flexible PANI/GECF composite cloths showed three-dimensional (3D) hierarchical micro/nano-architecture and were directly made into electrodes without any conductive additives and binders. The results of electrochemical tests indicated that PANI/GECF electrodes not only displayed a high specific capacitance of 976.5 F g−1 at the current density of 0.4 A g−1, with a retention ratio of 89.2% after 1000 cycles at the current density of 10 A g−1, but also retained a specific capacitance of nearly 500 F g−1 and a coulombic efficiency of 95% at a high current density of 50 A g−1. The good performance of PANI/GECF is attributed to the high electrical conductivity of GECFs and 3D hierarchical micro/nano-architecture, which is a combination of 3D macroporosity of GECF cloth with the 3D nanostructure of ordered needle-like PANI nanowires.