Development of a high-performance asymmetrical supercapacitor based on conductive polythiophene and waste tissue paper-derived porous carbon

Abstract

The aim of this work is to synthesize a composite of polythiophene and waste tissue paper-derived activated carbon as an electrode for asymmetric supercapacitors. The structural, morphological, and electrochemical properties of the prepared samples (tissue paper-derived activated carbon (TAC), polythiophene (PTh), and tissue paper-derived activated carbon/polythiophene (TAC/PTh)) were examined and discussed. According to the electrochemical analysis, a higher specific capacitance (617 F g⁻¹ at 0.5 A g⁻¹) was measured for the TAC/PTh nanocomposite as compared to its pristine counterparts, which was contributed by the electric double-layer formation and the pseudocapacitance that occurs on its surface. The π–π interaction and H-bonding between TAC and PTh facilitated the charge transport process and thereby resulted in the superior electrochemical performance of the nanocomposite. Moreover, the charge storage mechanism of the samples was also studied, and it was observed that the pseudocapacitance charge mechanism increased in the TAC/PTh composite as compared to pristine TAC. Furthermore, the asymmetric device fabricated from TAC/PTh and pristine TAC delivered exceptional electrochemical performance, rendering a high energy density of 70.8 W h kg⁻¹ at a power density of 377 W kg⁻¹. It also displayed tremendous scope for its practical application with excellent cyclic stability, attenuating only 4.8% of the initial specific capacitance over 10 000 charge–discharge cycles.