Composite Materials with MWCNTs and Conducting Polymer Nanorods and their Application as Supercapacitors

Abstract

:This study demonstrated the synthesis of high-surface-area metal-free carbonaceous electrodes (CE) from anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) templates, and their application as supercapacitors. Multi-walled Carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were interwoven into a porous network sheet that was attached to one side of AAO template through a vacuum filtration of the homogeneously dispersed MWCNT toluene solution. Subsequently, the conducting polymer was electrochemically grown into the porous MWCNT network and nanochannels of AAO, leading to the formation of a carbonaceous metal-free film electrode with a high surface area in the given geometrical surface area. Typical conducting polymers such as polypyrrole (PPY) and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) were examined as model systems, and the resulting electrodes were investigated as supercapacitors (SCs). These SCs exhibited stable, high capacitances, with values as high as 554 F/g, 1.08 F/cm 2 for PPY and 237 F/g, 0.98 F/cm 2 for PEDOT, that were normalized by both the mass and geometric area.

Recent Progress on Electrochemical Capacitors Based on Carbon Nanotubes

“…For noncovalently modified CNTs with polymers, several strategies have been developed. Currently, they involve physical mixing in solution, in situ polymerization of monomers in the presence of CNTs, surfactant-and templateassisted processing of composites, chemical functionalization of the incorporated nanotubular material, and electrochemical polymerization carried out on an electrode surface modified with carbon nanostructures or electrochemical co-polymerization [118,125,126]. In Figure 14,e x e mplary procedures of nanocomposites formation are schematically presented.…”

“…Three-dimensional Carbon Nanotubes -Recent Progresshybrid composite material composed of 2D fish scale-like polyaniline nanosheet arrays on graphene oxide sheets and carbon nanotubes exhibiting high specific capacitance of 589 F g À1 compared to 397 F g À1 for pristine PANI was also investigated [18]. Moreover, ternary composite systems containing carbon nanotubes, graphene, and conducting polymers were also SWCNT/PPy 305 [132] SWCNT/PANI 247 [129] SWCNT/PANI 485 [111] SWCNT/PANI 707 [133] SWCNT/PANI 1000 [134] SWCNT/C 60 -Pd 994 [119] MWCNT MWCNT/PANI 50 [120] MWCNT/PANI 500 [112] MWCNT/PANI 670 [130] MWCNT/PPy 70 [120] MWCNT/PPy 268 [7] MWCNT/PPy 243 [16] MWCNT/PPy 506 [130] MWCNT/PPy 554 [126] MWCNT/C 60 -Pd 758 [119] MWCNT/PEDOT:PSS 30 [120] MWCNT/PEDOT 237 [126] Graphene/CNT Graphene/CNT/PPy 453 [132] GO/CNT GO/CNT/PANI 413 [18] Table 3. Capacitance properties of selected composites containing carbon nanostructure and conducting polymer.…”