Preparation of carpenterworm-like polyaniline/carbon nanotubes nanocomposites with enhanced electrochemical property

Carpenterworm-like multidimensional architectures of polyaniline/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (PANI–MWNTs), with a diameter of about 2.5 μm and consisting of many interlaced PANI nanorods on the surface of MWNTs, were successfully synthesized in a mixture of ethanol and water. Chemical structure and composition of the prepared PANI–MWNTs nanocomposites were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, ultraviolet and visible spectroscopy (UV–vis), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It has been found that the concentration of ethanol in the solution plays a critical role in controlling the morphology of the resultant nanocomposites. The obtained carpenterworm-like PANI–MWNTs nanocomposites exhibit enhanced electrochemical behavior in comparison with MWNTs and PANI, indicating a potential application in electrode material of supercapacitors or secondary batteries.

► Carpenterworm-like PANI–MWNTs nanocomposites are prepared using a mixture of ethanol and H2O.
► PANI–MWNTs nanocomposites with different morphology are obtained by tuning the composition of the solvent.
► Carpenterworm-like PANI–MWNTs nanocomposites exhibits enhanced electrochemical behavior.