Flexible Multiwall Carbon Nano-Tubes/Polyaniline Composite for Supercapacitor Application

Abstract

In this study, the electrochemical performance of Multi-walled Carbon nanotubes (MWCNT) and polyaniline (PANI) composite (PANI/MWCNT) as supercapacitor electrode material was investigated. An improvement in capacitive performance due to the combination of pseudo capacitance and double layer capacitance was observed. A nano-composite was fabricated by polymerizing pseudo-capacitive polyaniline onto the MWCNT surface through the in-situ chemical polymerization approach. Ammonium persulphate (APS) was used as oxidant to polymerize PANI and HCl was used as dopant. Stainless steel thin foil was used as a current collector as well as a flexible back bone. Graphite conductive ink as binder was used to form a conductive paste. Different composition is varied by varying the PANI concentration from 0.1M, 0.3M, and 0.5M to 1M molar concentration. For material characterization, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) was used to characterize surface morphology of the composite. Cyclic Voltammetry and Electrochemical Impedance Spectrometry in three electrodes set up found that 0.1M PANI/MWCNT yields the best electrochemical performance. Two electrodes setup evaluation on 0.1M PANI/MWCNT reviews promising characteristic suitable for device application. The improved electroactivity of the PANI/MWCNT composite is discussed in detail.