Nanostructured CuO/PANI composite as supercapacitor electrode material

An in-situ polymerization method has been employed to prepare CuO/PANI nanocomposite. The prepared samples have been characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), FTIR spectroscopy, field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), and BET analysis. Application of the prepared samples has been evaluated as supercapacitor material in 1 M Na2SO4 solution using cyclic voltammetry (CV) in different potential scan rates, ranging from 5 to 100 my s(-1), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The specific capacitance of CuO/PANI has been calculated to be as high as 185 F g(-1), much higher than that obtained for pure CuO nanoparticles (76 F g(-1)). Moreover, the composite material has shown better rate capability (75% capacitance retention) in various scan rates in comparison with the pure oxide (30% retention). EIS results show that the composite material benefits from much lower charge transfer resistance, compared to CuO nanoparticles. Moreover, much better cyclic performance has been achieved for the composite material. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.