Low cost, high efficiency flexible supercapacitor electrodes made from areca nut husk nanocellulose and silver nanoparticle embedded polyaniline

Abstract

Energy storage is a key aspect in the smooth functioning of the numerous gadgets that aid easy maneuvering through modern life. Supercapacitors that store energy faradaically have recently emerged as potential inventions for which mechanical flexibility is an absolute requirement for their future applications. Flexible supercapacitors based on nanocellulose extracted from easily available waste materials via low cost methods have recently garnered great attention. In the present work, we discuss the construction of flexible, binder-free supercapacitive electrodes using nanocellulose extracted from locally available areca nut husks and polyaniline embedded with silver nanoparticles. The prepared electrodes were characterized using SEM, TEM, XRD, FTIR, EDX and electrochemical characterization techniques such as CV, galvanostatic charge–discharge, chronoamperometry and EIS. A specific capacitance of 780 F g⁻¹ was obtained for the silver nanoparticle embedded polyaniline–nanocellulose (Ag–PANI–NC) substrate supported electrodes, which is ∼4.2 times greater than that of bare polyaniline–nanocellulose electrodes. We attributed this enhancement to a lowering of the activation energy barrier of correlated electron hopping among localized defect states in the composite matrix by the Ag nanoparticles. An energy density value of 15.64 W h kg⁻¹ and a power density of 244.8 W kg⁻¹ were obtained for the prepared electrodes. It was observed that the Ag–PANI–NC based electrode can retain ∼98% of its specific capacitance upon recovery from mechanical bending to extreme degrees.