Preparation and electrochemical investigation of polyaniline nanowires for high performance supercapacitor

A high performance polyaniline (PANI) nanowires electrode was prepared by electrodeposition of aniline on porous tubular carbon (PTC). The resulting composites PTC/PANI with a vine-like shape exhibited remarkable electrochemical performance, including a high specific capacitance (477.7 F g−1 at 1 A g−1) and an excellent cycling stability (91% capability retention after 5000 cycles). Such excellent performance was attributed to the synergistic effects between PTC and PANI. PTC with well-defined macropores and interconnected meso-/micropores structure can facilitate the transfer of ions and electrons and can also effectively avoid PANI agglomeration; the nanostructured PANI can provide pseudocapacitance. Moreover, the good contact between PANI and PTC, which was constructed by electrodeposition, ensures a low contact resistance and reinforces structural stability of the composite electrode.