Preparation and Electrochemical Properties of Polyaniline/Carbon Nanofiber Composite Materials

Abstract

Polyaniline/carbon nanofiber (PANI/CNF) composite materials were prepared by in situ polymerization. The functional group, composition, surface morphology, and specific surface area of composite materials were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Brunauer-Emmelt-Teller analysis. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanotactic charge-discharge methods were used to study the electrochemical properties of the PANI/CNF composite materials. Results showed that the composite materials had a rough surface with a burry PANI structure that was uniformly distributed over the CNF. The composite materials, as electrodes, showed good reversibility in redox reactions. The specific capacitance of 44.4%(w) PANI/CNF was 587.1 F.g(-1), the specific energy was 66.1 Wh.kg(-1) at a current density of 100 mA.g(-1), and the specific power was 1014.2 W.kg(-1) at a current density of 800 mA.g(-1). Moreover, the specific capacitance of PANI/CNF only decreased by 28% after 1000 charge-discharge cycles. Therefore, the PANI/CNF composite material is an excellent material for use in supercapacitors because of its high electrical conductivity and large specific capacitance.