The poor cyclic stability of polyaniline restricts its application as an electrode material for supercapacitors, due to the volume changes during the long charge/discharge process.
Polyaniline (PANI) and polypyrrole (PPy) were prepared
via the chemical oxidative polymerization with various oxidant/monomer
initial mole ratios (O/M) in hydrochloric
acid aqueous solution and washing with water or ethanol to investigate
the effect of the O/M ratio and
the washing process on their electrochemical performance as electrode
materials for supercapacitors. Their morphologies were characterized
with transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and the electrochemical
performance of the PANI and PPy electrodes was studied by cyclic voltammogram
and galvanostatic charge/discharge tests. It was found that the electrical
conductivities and specific capacitances of the polymers were mainly
dependent on the O/M ratio. An additional
post-treatment of washing was considered as an unfavorable processing
with the decrease in yield, conductivity, and capacitance, except
for the partial enhancement of the cyclic stabilities. This understanding
will lead to a better design of conductive polymer-based electrode
materials for supercapacitors.
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