Polyaniline-Active Carbon Composite Prepared by Rapid Mixing Technique for Supercapacitor

Polyaniline-active carbon (PANI-AC) composite was prepared by rapid mixing technique. The morphology and structure of as-prepared composite was characterized by scanning electron microscopy and infrared spectroscopy. The capacitance performances of the composite were tested by galvanostatic charge-discharge, cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. Results show that the aggregated PANI nanofibers are obtained. The addition of AC restrains the aggregation of PANI nano fibers, promotes well-distributed porous morphology and reduces charge transfer impedance. Thus, PANI-AC composite has better rate capability and acceptable cycle performance than pure PANI. The specific capacitance of 371 F/g and capacity retention of 66.6% after 1 000 cycles is exhibited for the composite with 20% AC dosage. When current density increases from 0.2 A/g to 1.5 A/g, the decreased specific capacitance is less than 5 F/g.