Preparation of graphene nanoscroll/polyaniline composites and their use in high performance supercapacitors

The graphene nanoscroll is a kind of tubular graphene with an open end and a helical nanostructure. Different amounts of polyaniline were formed on the surface of the nanoscroll by the in-situ polymerization of aniline. SEM observation shows that the polyaniline nanoparticles are evenly distributed on the nanoscrolls and the number of free polyaniline clusters increases with the amount of monomer used. The electrochemical performance of three composites with different polyaniline/graphene nanoscroll ratios was evaluated. The best specific capacitance of the composites reaches 320 F/g at 1 A/g and a 92.1% retention capacitance rate is obtained at 100 A/g, indicating that the composite has a rate performance as good as graphene nanoscrolls and a higher specific capacitance.