Electrochemical performance evaluation of polyaniline oated MWCNT/graphite-graphene oxide composite electrodes

Abstract

In this study, PANI-coated MWCNTs (PANI@CNT) were synthesized and combined with graphite and graphene oxide by a simple and facile preparation method, and thus a graphite-graphene oxide/PANI-coated MWCNT (GGO/PANI@CNT) composite was obtained. For the characterization studies of this resulting material, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and x-ray diffraction techniques were performed. Electrochemical analyses were also conducted using cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge–discharge (GCD), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The GCD analyses showed the highest volumetric specific capacitance value of 4.54 (Formula presented.) at a current density of 0.022 (Formula presented.), where the corresponding energy and power densities were 0.763 (Formula presented.) and 0.012 (Formula presented.), respectively. With an increase in the current density to 0.449 (Formula presented.), the energy density decreased to 0.220 (Formula presented.), while the power density exhibited the highest calculated power density of 0.247 (Formula presented.). The capacitance retention of this electrode was calculated as 147%. To the best of the authors' knowledge, for the first time in the literature, a capacitance retention of approximately 147% was achieved in a study of PANI@CNT. These results demonstrate that the GGO/PANI@CNT composite is a promising and advanced supercapacitor electrode material with significant potential for energy storage applications.