In-situ growth of P3HT/graphene composites for supercapacitor application

•P3HT/graphene composites were synthesized for supercapacitor applications.•The composites were synthesized in both the exsitu and insitu manner.•Microstructural and optical study have been investigated for both composites.•Insitu P3HT/graphene composite show superior storage capacity.

Poly (3-hexylthiophene)/graphene composites are synthesized via both in-situ and ex-situ growth technique to investigate supercapacitive behavior. From the microstructural, absorption and photoluminescence spectra it is seen that in-situ growth of P3HT forms better composites with graphene. Galvanostatic charging/discharging and cyclic voltammogram are investigated and the results are compared for both ex-situ and in-situ synthesis. The values of specific capacitance at a current density of 200 mA g−1 for ex-situ and in-situ samples are found to be 244 F g−1 and 323 F g−1 respectively. It is seen that in-situ growth sample gives better results.

Graphical abstractFigure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide