Conductive polymer/reduced graphene oxide/Au nano particles as efficient composite materials in electrochemical supercapacitors

• DOI: 10.1016/j.apsusc.2015.06.066
• Publication Date: 2015-06-23T03:12:47Z
• Authors: J. Shabani Shayeh; A. Ehsani; M.R. Ganjali; P. Norouzi; B. Jaleh
• Keywords: 02 engineering and technology; 0210 nano-technology; 7. Clean energy

Abstract Polyaniline/reduced graphene oxide/Au nano particles (PANI/rGO/AuNPs) as a hybrid supercapacitor were deposited on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE) by cyclic voltammetry (CV) method as ternary composites and their electrochemical performance was evaluated in acidic medium. Scanning electron micrographs clearly revealed the formation of nanocomposites on the surface of the working electrode. Scanning electron micrographs (SEM) clearly revealed the formation of nanocomposites on the surface of working electrode. Different electrochemical methods including galvanostatic charge–discharge (CD) experiments, cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were carried out in order to investigate the applicability of the system as a supercapacitor. Based on the cyclic voltammogram results obtained, PANI/rGO/AuNPs gave higher specific capacitance, power and energy values than PANI at a current density of 1 mA cm−2. Specific capacitance (SC) of PANI and PANI/rGO/AuNPs electrodes calculated using CV method are 190 and 303 F g−1, respectively. The present study introduces new nanocomposite materials for electrochemical redox capacitors with advantages including long life cycle and stability due to synergistic effects of each component.