Supercapacitors based on conducting polymers/nanotubes composites

Abstract

Three types of electrically conducting polymers (ECPs), i.e. polyaniline (PANI), polypyrrole (PPy) and poly-(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) have been tested as supercapacitor electrode materials in the form of composites with multiwalled carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The energy storage in such a type of composite combines an electrostatic attraction as well as quick faradaic processes called pseudo-capacitance. It has been shown that carbon nanotubes play the role of a perfect backbone for a homogenous distribution of ECP in the composite. It is well known that pure conducting polymers are mechanically weak, hence, the carbon nanotubes preserve the ECP active material from mechanical changes (shrinkage and breaking) during long cycling. Apart of excellent conducting and mechanical properties, the presence of nanotubes improves also the charge transfer that enables a high charge/discharge rate. For an optimal use of ECPs in electrochemical capacitors, a special electrode composition with ca. 20 wt.% of CNTs and a careful selection of the potential range is necessary. The capacitance values ranging from 100 to 330 F g −1 could be reached for different asymmetric configurations with a capacitor voltage from 0.6 to 1.8 V. It is also noteworthy that such a type of ECP/CNTs composite does not need any binding substance that is an important practical advantage.