The capacitive characteristics of supercapacitors consisting of activated carbon fabric–polyaniline composites in NaNO3

A sandwich-type supercapacitor consisting of two similar activated carbon fabric–polyaniline (ACF–PANI) composite electrodes was demonstrated to exhibit excellent performance (i.e., highly reversibility and good stability) in NaNO3. Polyaniline with the charge density of polymerization less than or equal to 9 C cm−2 synthesized by means of a potentiostatic method showed a high specific capacitance of 300 F g−1. Influences of the polymerization charge density (i.e., the polymer loading) on the capacitive characteristics of ACF–PANI composites were compared systematically. The capacity of an ACF–PANI electrode reach ca. 3.4 F cm−2 (a 100% increase in total capacity) when the charge density of polymerization is equal to 9 C cm−2. The surface morphology of these ACF–PANI composites was examined by a scanning electron microscope (SEM).