Fabrication of a poly(o-toluidine-co-aniline)/SiO2 nanocomposite for an electrochemical supercapacitor application

Abstract

A poly(ortho toluidine-co-aniline)/SiO2 nanocomposite electrode (Poly(oT-co-ANI)/SiO2) was fabricated in one step using electrodeposition polymerization. The polymer layer was characterized using UV–Vis spectroscopy, FTIR spectroscopy, and SEM/EDX. The electrochemical performance of the nanocomposite electrode was tested in 1 M H2 SO4 using cyclic voltammetry (CV), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and the galvanostatic charge/discharge (GCD) technique. The Poly(oT-co-ANI)/SiO2 NC electrode presented a higher specific capacitance (87.79 F g−1 at 0.2 A) than the homopolymer PoT (29.5 F g−1 at 0.2 A). Thus, the specific capacitance of nanocomposite is three times greater due to large surface area and high porosity of the active material. Finally, the asymmetric full cell of Poly(oT-co-ANI)/SiO2 || graphene was tested and exhibited a maximum power of 4.25 W kg−1 and energy storage capacity of 1.7 W h kg−1. Graphic abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.].