Facile route to covalently-jointed graphene/polyaniline composite and it's enhanced electrochemical performances for supercapacitors

A polyaniline/graphene composite with covalently-bond is synthesized by a novel approach. In this way, graphene oxide is functionalized firstly by introducing amine groups onto the surface with the reduction of graphene oxide in the process and then served as the anchor sites for the growth of polyaniline (PANI) via in-situ polymerization. The composite material is characterized by electron microscopy, the resonant Raman spectra, X-ray diffraction, transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The electrochemical properties of the composite are measured by cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy and galvanostatic charging/discharging. With the functionalization process, the graphene/polyaniline composite electrode exhibits remarkably enhanced electrochemical performance with specific capacitance of 489 F g(-1) at 0.5 A g(-1), which is superior to those of its individual components. The outstanding electrochemical performance of the hybrid can be attributed to its covalently synergistic effect between graphene and polyaniline, suggesting promising potentials for supercapacitors. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier B.V.