Recent developments in the layer-by-layer assembly of polyaniline and carbon nanomaterials for energy storage and sensing applications. From synthetic aspects to structural and functional characterization

Abstract

The construction of hybrid polymer-inorganic nanoarchitectures for electrochemical purposes based on the layer-by-layer assembly of conducting polymers and carbon nanomaterials has become increasingly popular over the last decade. This explosion of interest is primarily related to the increasing mastery in the design of supramolecular constructs using simple wet chemical approaches. Concomitantly, this continuous research activity paved the way to the rapid development of nanocomposites or "nanoblends" readily integrable into energy storage and sensing devices. In this sense, the layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly technique has allowed us to access three-dimensional (3D) multicomponent carbon-based network nanoarchitectures displaying addressable electrical, electrochemical and transport properties in which conducting polymers, such as polyaniline, and carbon nanomaterials, such as carbon nanotubes or nanographene, play unique roles without disrupting their inherent functions - complementary entities coexisting in harmony. Over the last few years the level of functional sophistication reached by LbL-assembled carbon-based 3D network nanoarchitectures, and the level of knowledge related to how to design, fabricate and optimize the properties of these 3D nanoconstructs have advanced enormously. This feature article presents and discusses not only the recent advances but also the emerging challenges in complex hybrid nanoarchitectures that result from the layer-by-layer assembly of polyaniline, a quintessential conducting polymer, and diverse carbon nanomaterials. This is a rapidly developing research area, and this work attempts to provide an overview of the diverse 3D network nanoarchitectures prepared up to now. The importance of materials processing and LbL integration is explored within each section and while the overall emphasis is on energy storage and sensing applications, the most widely-used synthetic strategies and characterization methods for "nanoblend" formation and performance evaluation are also presented.

Proton‐Gated Rectification Regimes in Nanofluidic Diodes Switched by Chemical Effectors

“…The chemical nature of the electrosynthesized polymer was confirmed by Raman spectroscopy (Figure c). The more intense Raman bands appear in the range 1000–1700 cm ‐1 and the spectrum is dominated by the well‐established bands of the PANI‐based polymers . The C‐H in‐plane bending modes appear at about 1160, whereas the bands assigned to the CN stretching appear at about 1310–1400 cm ‐1 (radical cation) and 1470–1490 cm ‐1 (quinone diimine) .…”

“…The more intense Raman bands appear in the range 1000-1700 cm −1 and the spectrum is dominated by the well-established bands of the PANI-based polymers. [29,30] The C-H in-plane bending modes appear at about 1160, [31] whereas the bands assigned to the CN stretching appear at about 1310-1400 cm −1 (radical cation) and 1470-1490 cm −1 (quinone diimine). [32] The C=C stretching of the quinoid units is at about 1570-1595 cm −1 and its presence is related to the conducting form of the poly mer.…”

Organic Thermoelectric Multilayers with High Stretchiness

“…LbL assembly is mainly a result of electrostatic interaction in most cases, but other molecular interactions between the LbL materials, including hydrogen bonds, coordination bonds, charge transfer, hydrophobic interactions, and the combined interaction of the above forces have been shown to be driving forces to build up multilayer films [35][36][37]. LbL films have been engineered in a diverse range of applications, such as drug delivery, sensing, self-cleaning, super hydrophobic surfaces, separation membranes, and energy storage [38][39][40][41].…”

Layer-by-layer assembled polyaniline/carbon nanomaterial-coated cellulosic aerogel electrodes for high-capacitance supercapacitor applications

“…[13][14][15][16] LbL assembly can be used to combine materials with different microstructures, including nanorods, nanosheets, nanoparticles, and nanobres. 17,18 Thus, this method has the ability to integrate and modulate the complex functions of different nanomaterials with controlled lm composition and structure. 19 However, at present, the research of LbL assembly is mainly focused on membrane-like substrate materials, such as ITO-coated glass [20][21][22] and polymer lms (PET, 23,24 PDMS, 25 PLA, 26 and nanocellulose lm 27,28 ).…”