Preparation of sulfonated graphene–polyaniline nanofiber composites by oil/water interfacial polymerization and their application for supercapacitors

An easy and one-pot method for the preparation of sulfonated graphene–polyaniline nanofiber (SGEPA) composites by oil/water interfacial polymerization was studied in this work. Among the composites were obtained at different mass ratios of graphene and aniline. The chemical structure of the materials was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The morphology of the material was studied by scanning electron microscope and high resolution transmission electron microscopy. The SGEPA composite electrodes with a mass ratio of 1:10 showed better electrochemical performance than pure polyaniline nanofiber and graphene. A high specific capacitance of 962 F/g was obtained at a potential scan rate of 2 mV/s and the specific capacitance value of SGEPA-110 retained about 78% after 1000 cycles. It also exhibited a high energy density of 68.86 Wh/kg at a power density of 102 W/kg. The extraordinary electrochemical properties of the composites were attributed to the well-designed structural advantages of binary nanocomposites and the good combination and synergistic effects between graphene and polyaniline.