Synthesis and Chacterization of Polyaniline and Poly(ortho-methoxianiline) Graphene Oxide Nanocomposites for Supercapacitors Application
The aim of this work was to study the synthesis and characterization of polyaniline (PANI) and poly(ortho-methoxyaniline) (POMA), carbon black (CB) and graphene oxide (GO)-containing nanocomposites. These materials can be applied in different areas, such as supercapacitors. The PANI and POMA synthesis was carried out by using chemical synthesis in aqueous acid medium with different monomer:oxidizing agent molar ratios. The graphene oxide synthesis was carried out by using the modified Hummers method. After the first electrochemical analyzes of electrodes containing exclusively PANI and POMA, it was observed that PANI presented better performance than POMA, the latter was therefore not used for making the nanocomposites. Nanocomposites were synthesized, exclusively through physical mixing, of PANI containing, in different mass proportions, carbon black (CB) and graphene oxide (GO). The best results obtained were the nanocomposites containing 70% of PANI and 20% of CB. These electrodes presented specific capacitance values, normalized by the material mass, from around 200 up to 270 F/g. Nanocomposites containing graphene oxide showed lower specific capacitance values, indicating little contribution to the electrode materials capacitive properties compared to PANI and NF.