Unique Core-Shell Structured Polyaniline Nanofibers Toward Ultrahigh-Rate Flexible All-Solid-State Supercapacitor

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Simultaneously achieving high charge storage and fast charging in supercapacitors remains a significant challenge.
• Polyaniline (PANI) is a promising material for supercapacitors but often suffers from structural limitations affecting performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a facile and scalable method for fabricating advanced PANI nanostructures for energy storage.
• To create core-shell PANI nanofibers with enhanced electrochemical properties for supercapacitors.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a flowing seed polymerization technique to synthesize PANI nanofibers.
• Incorporated phytic acid (PA) doping and copolymerization with m-aminobenzene sulfonic acid (ASA) for oriented growth and core-shell structure formation.

Main Results:

• Achieved PANI nanofibers with a specific capacitance of 671.2 F g^-1 at 2 A g^-1 and remarkable rate capability (93.1% retention from 2 to 100 A g^-1).
• Fabricated an all-solid-state supercapacitor demonstrating high energy density (28.3 Wh kg^-1), excellent rate capability (81.2% from 1 to 20 A g^-1), and good cycle stability (77.5% after 5000 cycles).

Conclusions:

• The developed green and scalable synthesis method yields unique core-shell PANI nanofibers suitable for high-performance energy storage.
• The core-shell PANI nanofibers offer a promising platform for flexible and lightweight supercapacitors with improved charge storage and fast charging capabilities.