Binder-free polyaniline interconnected metal hexacyanoferrates nanocomposites (Metal = Ni, Co) on carbon fibers for flexible supercapacitors

• Published in: Journal of materials science. Materials in electronics 2017-12, Vol.28 (23), p.17405-17413
• Main Authors: Maier, M. A., Suresh Babu, R., Sampaio, D. M., de Barros, A. L. F.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Capacitance; Carbon fibers; Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Chemistry and Materials Science; Cobalt; Copolymerization; Current density; Electrical resistivity; Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy; Electrode materials; Electrodes; Materials Science; Nanocomposites; Nickel; Optical and Electronic Materials; Polyanilines; Stability; Supercapacitors
• ISSN: 0957-4522; 1573-482X
• DOI: 10.1007/s10854-017-7674-z

Improvement of the electrical conductivity, specific capacitance and binder-free polyaniline (PANI) interconnected with metal(II) hexacyanoferrate(III) (MHCF) nanocomposites (M = Ni, Co) on flexible carbon fibers (CF) were designed in our present research goal. PANI/MHCF/CF nanocomposites were prepared by one-step co-polymerization method. Electrochemical studies like cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge–discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were analyzed. Under the optimized conditions, the nanocomposites demonstrated remarkable electrochemical performances as supercapacitor electrode with outstanding specific capacitances of ~725 F g −1 at a current density of 1 A g −1 , and retained ~325 F g −1 even at a high current density of 20 A g −1 in 0.5 M H 2 SO 4  + 0.5 M Na 2 SO 4 solution. The excellent cycling stability with capacitance retention of 80% after 1000 cycles may be a potential electrode material for future supercapacitor when its cycling stability and rate performance are addressed.