Simple and rapid synthesis of ternary polyaniline/titanium oxide/graphene by simultaneous TiO2 generation and aniline oxidation as hybrid materials for supercapacitor applications

Abstract

This paper reports a simple methodology for the synthesis of a polyaniline/titanium oxide/graphene hybrid (Pani/TiO2/GN) using a simple methodology, and their application as a supercapacitor electrode material for energy storage. The Pani/TiO2/GN hybrid was prepared by a simple approach by simultaneous generation of Pani and TiO2 in situ from aniline and titanium iso-propoxide, respectively, in the presence of GN under ice bath conditions. The incorporation of GN improved the electrical conductivity of Pani and helped to decrease the charge transfer resistance, whereas TiO2 generation by an in situ method increased the surface area considerably and enhanced the capacitance of the Pani/TiO2/GN hybrid. TEM showed that Pani and TiO2 were well incorporated and coated on the GN successfully. The shift of the peaks in the FTIR spectrum and XRD pattern of the Pani/TiO2/GN hybrid compared to their pure counterparts suggested that TiO2 and Pani had been perfectly coated on the GN, and there was a strong interaction among Pani, GN, and TiO2 particles. The electrochemical performance of the as-prepared Pani/TiO2/GN hybrid electrode showed a high specific capacitance of 403.2 F g−1 at a current density of 2 A g−1 and excellent cycling stability for up to 1000 cycles. This suggested that the effective incorporation of GN and TiO2 into Pani and the high surface area could simultaneously increase the electrochemical capacitance and cyclic stability of the Pani/TiO2/GN hybrid, leading to superior electrochemical performance.