Interfacial polymerisation of polyaniline/Fe(OH)₃/graphene nanocomposites and its energy storage properties

ABSTRACT

It is well known that polyaniline is a promising electrode material because of its high capacitance, controllable morphology and fast Faradaic reaction, however, its swelling and shrinking behavior during charge/discharge processes may cause structure collapse, leading to the poor cycling stability. In this article, a series of polyaniline/Fe(OH)₃/graphene (PFG) nanocomposites were synthesized using a facile interfacial polymerization method under acid condition by adjusting the polymerization time. During the interfacial polymerization process, graphene oxide and ferric chloride acted as oxidants, while aniline acted as reducing agent. The results indicated that the PFG nanocomposite polymerized at 48 h (PFG48) demonstrated the highest specific capacitance of 417 F·g^-1 at 1 A·g^-1, and a good stability with 71.2% capacitance retention after 5000 cycles. The excellent electrochemical properties can be ascribed to the optimal microstructure and morphology of PFG48 prepared at the suitable polymerization time.

KEYWORDS:

• Interfacial polymerisation
• graphene
• PANI
• electrode material
• supercapacitor

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [51774177], Natural Science Foundation Guidance Program of Liaoning Province [20170540468], Liaoning Bai Qian Wan Talents Program (2017-104), Program of Distinguished Professor of Liaoning Province (2017-60), Project of Liaoning Education Department [2017LNQN14], Innovative Research Team Funding of USTL [No. 2016TD05].