Hybrids of Highly Ordered Polyaniline/Carbon Fibers for High-Performance Supercapacitor Electrodes

Abstract—Ordered polyaniline/carbon fibers (PANI/CFs) hybrids were fabricated via a facile in-situ polymerization method, and applied as electrode materials for supercapacitors. The morphology and structure of the as-prepared samples were conducted using SEM, XRD, FT-IR, and TGA techniques, respectively, and characterization results proved the successful growth of PANI on the CFs with network structure. The electrochemical performance tests demonstrated that the specific capacitance of PANI/CFs was 653.8 F/g at 1 A/g, and after 2000 cycles, the specific capacitance retained 91.7% at 20 A/g in 1.0 M H₂SO₄ electrolyte. In comparison to PANI, the excellent electrochemical performance of PANI/CFs was attributed to high dispersion of active sites, good electrical conductivity and enhanced accessibility between electrolyte and the active materials on the electrode. Thus, the improved electrochemical properties of PANI/CFs hybrids suggest good potential to be a greatly promising electrode material for use in supercapacitors.