Journal of Power Sources, Vol.321, 94-101, 2016
Excellent electrochemical performances of cabbage-like polyaniline fabricated by template synthesis
In this article, we explore a novel route to fabricate cabbage-like polyaniline (PANI) by in situ polymerization of aniline using the hydroxylated poly (methyl methacrylate) nanospheres (i.e. PMMA-OH-NS) as a template. A maximum specific capacitance of 584 F/g (the current density is 0.1 A/g) is achieved at 10 mV s(-1) as well as a high stability of over 3000 cycles (the decrease in the SC is similar to 9.1%), which suggests the potential application of the cabbage-like polyaniline in supercapacitors. The predominant electrochemical performances of the cabbage-like polyaniline can be attributed to their large surface area and larger-scale it it conjugated system present in the quinoid structure of the PANI molecular chain, which can drastically facilitate electron diffusion and improve the utilization of the electroactive PANI during the charge/discharge processes. Accordingly, the facility of charge transfer can decrease resistance along with the PANI molecular chain to improve the electrochemical stability and achieve high-capacitance response characteristics. The present study introduces a new synthesis method for the development of various morphology of other conducting polymer, which may find potential applications in a variety of high-performance electrochemical devices. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.