Hierarchical porous polyaniline supercapacitor electrode from polyaniline/silica self- aggregates

To lengthen the lifecycles of polyaniline (PANI) electrodes, a hierarchical porous PANI was synthesized from PANI/silica self-aggregates through a facile one-pot method. Hydrogen bonding between N-H groups in aniline/PANI and-OH groups in nanosilica template led to a type of self-assembly, which enabled the formation of uniform nanoparticles. Silica self-aggregates provided macroporous channels, resulting in a decreased diffusion distance. After removal of the hard template, the porous PANI had a large, porous surface area (55.89 m(2) g(-1)), in comparison with nonporous PANI (12.45 m(2) g(-1)). The porous PANI was analyzed using Fourier transform infrared and UV-visible spectroscopies, scanning electron microscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and galvanostatic charge-discharge measurements. Because of its hierarchical structure, the resultant porous PANI possessed a higher capacitance (397 F g(-1)) than nonporous PANI (280 F g(-1)) at 1 A g(-1) in 1 mol L-1 H2SO4 electrolyte. (c) 2018 Society of Chemical Industry