Electrochemical and Electrical Performances of High Energy Storage Polyaniline Electrode with Supercapattery Behavior

Abstract

Polyaniline (PANI), due to its highly reversible electrochemistry with superior energy storage and delivery characteristics, is considered as an electrode material in batteries, capacitors, and hybrid systems. We used a facile electrochemical synthesis for the formation of the PANI electrode using galvanostatic polymerization of aniline on the graphite electrode at the current density of 2.0 mA cm−2 from the aqueous electrolyte containing 0.25 mol dm−3 aniline and 1.0 mol dm−3 H2SO4. Electrochemical and electrical characterization suggested excellent energy storage features of the PANI electrode in a three-electrode system with specific energy up to 53 Wh kg−1 and specific power up to 7600 W kg−1. After 2000 successive charge/discharge cycles at 9.5 Ag−1, the PANI electrode retained 95% of the initial capacity, with practically unaltered Coulombic efficiency of nearly 98%, providing a good base for future studies and practical applications.