Abstract
The polyaniline/single-walled carbon nanotubes (PANI/SWNTs) composites with a content of SWNTs varying from 8 wt% to 32 wt% were synthesized using a solid-state synthesis method. The structure and morphology of the samples were characterized by fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectra, ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) absorption spectra, X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The electrochemical performances of the composites were investigated by galvanostatic charge–discharge and cycling stability measurements. The structure and properties of PANI/SWNTs were compared with those of PANI/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (PANI/MWNTs) prepared under the same polymerization conditions. The results from FTIR and UV-vis spectra showed that the composites with SWNTs displayed a higher oxidation and doping degree than pure PANI, which is similar to that of PANI/MWNTs. The morphological studies revealed that PANI/SWNTs did not display any rod-like and granular-like features, which appeared in PANI/MWNTs. The galvanostatic charge–discharge measurements indicated that the specific capacitance of PANI/SWNTs is not higher than that of PANI/MWNTs, but the PANI/SWNTs exhibited higher cycling stability and more stable electrochemical behavior in neutral and alkaline electrolytes than PANI/MWNTs.
Highlights
Supercapacitors, which possess high power density, high cycle efficiency, fast charge/discharge ability and a long cycle life, have attracted considerable attention over the past decades owing to their wide range of potential applications [1]
The structure and properties of PANI/single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) are compared with those of PANI/MWNTs prepared under the same solid-state polymerization conditions
Compared to PANI, the composites have a higher intensity ratio of quinoid to benzenoid ring modes (~1577 cm−1/~1496 cm−1), which is similar to the PANI/MWNTs prepared under the same solid-state polymerization conditions [9]
Summary
Supercapacitors, which possess high power density, high cycle efficiency, fast charge/discharge ability and a long cycle life, have attracted considerable attention over the past decades owing to their wide range of potential applications [1]. To develop an advanced supercapacitor device, an active electrode material with high capacity performance is indispensable [2,3] Carbon materials and their composites are widely used for supercapacitor applications because of their unique properties [4]. As an extension of the traditional synthesis method, the solid-state synthesis method has many advantages: reduced pollution, low costs, and simplicity in process and handling It is widely used for synthesizing polyaniline type conducting polymers [10,11,12]. The effects of the type of carbon nanotubes (single-walled and multi-walled) on the structural and physicochemical properties of the resulting polymers are discussed in detail by comparative studies of FTIR, UV-vis-NIR, X-ray diffraction, TEM, galvanostatic charge–discharge and cycling stability measurements
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