Capacitance performances of supramolecular hydrogels based on conducting polymers

The capacitance performances of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT-PSS) supramolecular hydrogels have been investigated systematically. The materials show a specific capacitance of 67 F/g and display excellent rate capability at the scan rate as high as 5000 mV/s in the cyclic voltammogram measurements, accompanied by good cycle stability. On the basis of the measurements of the microscale morphologies, specific areas and electrical conductivities, the mechanisms for the improvement of the electrochemical properties are discussed and ascribed to the novel porous microstructures of the hydrogels and the synergetic effect of the rigid PEDOT and soft PSS components. Furthermore, polyaniline (PAn) is compounded with the PEDOT-PSS hydrogels through an interfacial polymerization process, endowing the hydrogel materials with a higher specific capacitance of 160 F/g at the scan rate of 5000 mV/s. The significance of this work lies in the demonstration of a novel method to solve the problems of conducting polymers in electrochemical applications.