Synthesis of 3D reduced graphene oxide/unzipped carbon nanotubes/polyaniline composite for high-performance supercapacitors

Ternary composite of reduced graphene oxide/unzipped carbon nanotubes/polyaniline (RGO/UCNTs/PANI) is prepared through an in-situ polymerization method. The as-prepared RGO/UCNTs/PANI displays a special three-dimensional (3D) structure in which PANI is interspersed in the RGO/UCNTs skeleton, which can give full play to the synergetic effect of electric double layer capacitance materials and pseudocapacitance materials. The electrochemical tests show that RGO/UCNTs/PANI composite presents a specific capacitance of 359.3 F g(-1) at 1 A g(-1), which is higher than that of RGO, UCNTs, PANI, RGO/PANI and UCNTs/PANI. Moreover, the capacitance of the composite still remains 80.5% of its initial value after 2000 cycles, and the composite demonstrates an energy density of 7.4 Wh kg(-1) and a power density of 189.0 Wkg(-1). This superior performance is attributed to the special 3D structure, which help carbon materials and polymers overcome their shortages, and make full use of their advantages. (c) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.