Tetraaniline microcrystals: Promising electrode for long-life supercapacitors

Abstract

The electrochemical capacitive property of the tetraaniline (TA) microcrystals was investigated for the first time in the present work. The TA microcrystals/reduced graphene oxide (TA/rGO) composite film was optimized by facile vacuum filtration, with thickness of 0.043 mm, electrical conductivity of 4.22 S/cm, and stable specific capacitance near 420 F/g at 100 mV/s for 9000 cycles as free-standing electrode. The superior electrochemical stability should be originated from the crystal structure of the TA flakes, which could efficiently prevent the volume change and hydrolytic degradation during the charging/recharging cycles. The TA/rGO based symmetrical solid-state supercapacitor possessed a high specific capacitance of 459.1 F/g at 1 A/g, an excellent cyclic stability with retention of 89.5% after 2000 cycles and an outstanding flexibility with retention of 77.9% after 100 cycles of 120°-bending.