Polyaniline Nanofibers Based Freestanding Electrode with High Electrochemical Performance for Supercapacitors

High-performance supercapacitors grasp great potential for applications like portable electronic gadgets, electric vehicles etc. Effective flexible morphology is an important aspect for supercapacitors. Here, we present a novel electrospinning technique to fabricate flexible supercapacitive electrodes based on polyaniline (PAni) nanofibers. The structural relevance of PAni was evidenced by XPS, the thin nanofibrous morphology was confirmed through SEM. The contact angle was found to be 40° which reveals hydrophilic nature. The electrode revealed an excellent 204 F/g specific capacitance at 1 mV/s scan rate. Moreover, the electrode delivers specific energy up to 52.43 Wh/kg along with specific power of 12.78 kW/kg for corresponding current density of 1 mA/cm2, tested in aq. 1 M KOH electrolyte. The retention of 92.03% of opening capacitance over 1000 cycles offered outstanding electrochemical stability. Thus, polyaniline nanofibers based electrode signifies great practical applicability in flexible devices for storing energy.