Abstract:
Self-assembled polyaniline nanowires stippled graphene nanocomposites (PGPCs) were prepared by in situ
polymerisation of aniline in the presence of 3-pentadecylphenyl phosphate (3-PDPP) modified graphene
sheets. 3-PDPP is an amphiphilic dopant derived from cardanol obtained as a waste byproduct from the
cashew industry, which serves a multifunctional role as a template, a surfactant, and a dopant and facilitates
the self-assembly process during the formation of the supramolecular organisation of the PGPC
nanocomposite. The formed PGPCs were characterised by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), Xray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic
force microscopy (AFM), pore volume, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area, thermal gravimetric
analysis (TGA), electrical conductivity (2.32 S cm 1) and electrochemical stability. Further symmetrical
supercapacitors were fabricated with the configurations (indium tin oxide (ITO)–PGPC/Na2SO4/PGPC–ITO)
and (ITO–PGPC/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)–H3PO4/PGPC–ITO) and measured optimal specific capacitance
(812.55 F g 1 using PVA–H3PO4 and 791.26 F g 1 using Na2SO4) and energy density (109.89 Wh kg 1 using Na2SO4 and 112.85 Wh kg 1 using PVA–H3PO4) and cycling stability (>2000). All these interesting results suggest its suitability as a sustainable efficient electrode for the fabrication of supercapacitors.
