Fabrication of polydopamine/polyaniline decorated multiwalled carbon nanotube composite as multifunctional electrode material for supercapacitor applications

Abstract

In this article, we report polydopamine/polyaniline decorated CNT composite (PDA/PANI@CNT) via an in situ-polymerization route for hybrid supercapacitor application. The structural and morphological features of the as-synthesized PDA, PDA/PANI and PDA/PANI@CNT composite were proved using various physicochemical techniques such as FT-IR, Raman, XRD, FESEM, TEM, BET and XPS analysis. The supercapacitive performance of the electrode fabricated using PDA/PANI@CNT was further evaluated by CV, GCD and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) analyses in aq. 1 M KOH. It is worth mentioning that the perfectly interconnected PDA/PANI@CNT composite delivered the specific capacitance of 970 F/g at 5 mV/s and 91 % of capacitance retention value after 6000 GCD cycles at 3 A/g and subsequently implied that PDA/PANI@CNT composite can be applied as electrode material in supercapacitors. Meanwhile, the biocidal potency of the PDA, PDA/PANI and PDA/PANI@CNT were evaluated and PDA/PANI@CNT was found to be better one comparison with PDA and PDA/PANI. This assay provided evidence that CNT can act as a synergetic one to enhance the biological property of the PDA/PANI.