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 W kg−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.