Electrochemical investigations of self-doped polyaniline nanofibers as a new electroactive material for high performance redox supercapacitor

Self-doped polyaniline (SDPA) nanofibers were deposited on platinum (Pt) electrode by reverse pulse voltammetric (RPV) method and their electrochemical performance was evaluated in an aqueous redox supercapacitor constituted as a two electrode cell in a weak acidic medium. Scanning electron micrographs clearly revealed the formation of nanofiber structures with diameters in range of 60-90 nm under optimum experimental conditions. Different electrochemical methods including galvanostatic charge-discharge (CD) experiments, cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were carried out in order to investigate the applicability of the system as a redox supercapacitor. Based on the charge-discharge results obtained, the SDPA represented high specific capacitance, specific power and specific energy values of 480 Fg(-1), 436 W kg(-1) and 9.40 Wh kg(-1), respectively, at a current density of 5 mA cm(-2). The present study introduces new nanofiber materials for electrochemical redox capacitors with advantages including low cost, long cycle-life and stable at low acidic solutions of pH 3. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.