Optimization of Sulfonated Polycatechol:PEDOT Energy Storage Performance by the Morphology Control

Abstract

Anionic catechol-containing polymers represent a promising class of functional dopants for the capacity improvement of conductive polymers. For example, sulfonated poly(vinylcatechol) SPVC with outstanding theoretical capacity was used as a dopant for poly(ethylenedixythiophene) (PEDOT) conductive polymer, increasing its energy storage performance. However, such materials suffer from insufficient utilization of the theoretical capacity of SPVC originating from non-optimal morphology. In the present study, we performed systematic optimization of the composition and morphology of the PEDOT:SPVC material as a function of the deposition parameters to overcome this problem. As a result, a capacity of 95 mAh·g−1 was achieved in a thin film demonstrating considerable electrochemical stability: 75% capacity retention after 100 cycles and 57% after 1000 cycles. Since the capacity was found to suffer from thickness limitation, a nanocomposite of PEDOT:SPVC and single-walled carbon nanotubes with high PEDOT:SPVC loading was fabricated, yielding the capacitance 178 F·g−1 or 89 F·cm−2. The capacity values exceed non-optimized film twofold for thin film and 1.33 times for nanocomposite with carbon nanotubes. The obtained results demonstrate the importance of fine-tuning of the composition and morphology of the PEDOT:SPVC materials to ensure optimal interactions between the redox/anionic and conductive components.

N,N,N-Triethyl-4-(1H-pyrrol-1-yl)butan-1-aminium Perchlorate

“…Conductive polymers, combining the chemical and mechanical properties of polymers with the electrical behavior of metals, attract attention as functional materials due to their corrosion resistance, easy synthesis, highly tunable structure, good mechanical and optical properties, high flexibility and electrical conductivity [1][2][3][4][5]. Conductive polymers are beneficial due to the reach functionalization chemistry, which allows us to append different active fragments to the main chain of the polymer [6,7].…”