Pulsed Electrodeposition of Ultrathin Polyaniline Films and Mechanistic Understanding of their Anion-Mediated Electrochemical Behavior

Abstract

Electrode materials which undergo anion insertion are of interest for next-generation energy storage devices and electrochemical water desalination. Polyaniline (PANI) is a robust and well-studied electrode material for anion insertion, but to date we have been unable to establish the electrochemical and anion-binding performance of PANI at nanoscale thicknesses because these thicknesses are not obtainable using standard PANI deposition procedures. Here, we report a new pulsed electrodeposition procedure for the controlled growth of PANI thin films with nanometer-scale thickness control. Using this pulsing technique, we deposit nanoscale (<100 nm) thin films of PANI onto stainless steel (SS) disks and gold electrochemical quartz crystal microbalance (EQCM) crystals. We examine the charge rate and anion-binding properties as a function of nanoscale thickness, and reveal previously undescribed insights into the charge storage and anion binding mechanisms of PANI. In particular, we identify that PANI films of <10 nm thickness provide rapid chloride ion uptake for desalination applications, and that thicker ∼100 nm PANI films are able to achieve rapid charge storage in sulfate solutions due to SO42−/HSO4− embedded within the PANI acting as a proton donor/acceptor. The results we report will inform the use of PANI thin films for energy storage and desalination applications.