Self-assembled polyaniline nanowires stippled graphene-3-pentadecylphenyl phosphate hybrid nanocomposite based green sustainable electrodes for supercapacitors

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), X-ray 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.