Biomass-derived N, S co-doped activated carbon-polyaniline nanorod composite electrodes for high-performance supercapacitors

• Published in: Applied surface science 2023-12, Vol.639, p.158191, Article 158191
• Main Authors: Yang, Xuan, Wang, Xueqin, Lu, Beili, Huang, Biao, Xia, Yonggao, Lin, Guanfeng
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Electrochemical performance; In-situ polymerization; N, S co-doped activated carbon; Polyaniline; Supercapacitors
• ISSN: 0169-4332; 1873-5584
• DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2023.158191

[Display omitted] •Fabrication of N, S co-doped activated carbon (NSAC)-polyaniline nanorod electrode by in-situ polymerization.•NSAC shows a large specific surface area, uniform pore size, and good conductivity.•NSAC-PANI-2 exhibits high specific capacitance, energy density, and excellent cycling stability. The use of electrode materials with a rationally designed architecture is imperative for the progression of high-performance supercapacitors (SCs). Herein, a facile approach for synthesizing high-performance composite electrodes using polyaniline nanorod modified biomass-derived N, S co-doped activated carbon (NSAC-PANI). This material effectively combines the merits of highly conductive activated carbon, a hierarchical porous structure, a high specific surface area, and a high theoretical capacitance of PANI. Benefiting from high conductivity, fast ion transport, and shorter ion diffusion path within the NSAC-PANI-2 electrode, it exhibits high specific capacitances of 304 F g−1 at 1 A g−1 in 1 M H2SO4. Furthermore, the symmetric SC assembled by NSAC-PANI-2 shows a high energy density of 23.6 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 395 W kg−1, and retains 90.2% of initial capacitance after 5,000 cycles. The low cost, simple synthesis route, and superior electrochemical performance of composite electrodes provide further insight into energy storage applications.