Polyaniline nanofibers with a high specific surface area and an improved pore structure for supercapacitors

Polyaniline (PANI) with a high specific surface area and an improved pore structure (HSSA-PANI) has been prepared by using a facile method, treating PANI nanofibers with chloroform (CHCl3), and its structure, morphology and pore structure are investigated. The specific surface area and pore volume of HSSA-PANI are 817.3 m2 g−1 and 0.6 cm3 g−1, and those of PANI are 33.6 m2 g−1 and 0.2 cm3 g−1. As electrode materials, a large specific surface area and pore volume can provide high electroactive regions, accelerate the diffusion of ions, and mitigate the electrochemical degradation of active materials. Compared with PANI, the capacity retention rate of HSSA-PANI is 90% with a growth of current density from 5.0 to 30 A g−1, and that of PANI is 29%. At a current density of 30 A g−1, the specific capacitance of HSSA-PANI still reaches 278.3 F g−1, and that of PANI is 86.7 F g−1. At a current density of 5.0 A g−1, the capacitance retention of HSSA-PANI is 53.1% after 2000 cycles, and that of PANI electrode is only 28.1%.