3D ordered porous PANI/CNT architecture via green self-assembly for high-performance flexible supercapacitors
Yingyi Ma, Xiaoting Liu, Yu Si, Xin-Zheng Li, Xinran Li, Jingfang Li
Abstract
The development of three-dimensional (3D) polyaniline (PANI) architectures offers an effective strategy to address the inherent limitations of PANI-based electrodes, particularly their poor rate capability and cycling stability during repeated charge/discharge processes. However, the intrinsic low processability of PANI hampers the construction of well-defined 3D structures. In this work, we report A green and cost-effective self-assembly method to fabricate a 3D ordered porous PANI framework integrated with carbon nanotubes (CNTs). The synergistic combination of hierarchical porosity and CNT reinforcement effectively suppresses volumetric shrinkage and structural degradation, while facilitating electron transport and ion diffusion. The resulting PANI/CNT porous film exhibits a high specific capacitance of 409.7 F g −1 at 0.25 A g −1 , excellent rate capability (61.4 % retention from 0.25 to 10 A g −1 ), and outstanding cycling stability with 94.6 % retention after 5000 cycles. The electrode also shows robust mechanical and thermal stability under bending and temperature variations. The capacitive performance can be precisely tuned by adjusting the self-assembly parameters. When assembled into a symmetric solid-state supercapacitor (SSC), the device delivers a specific capacitance of 311.3 F g −1 , an energy density of 43.2 Wh kg −1 at 125.0 W kg −1 , and retains 23.0 Wh kg −1 at 4998.0 W kg −1 . The SSCs can be connected in series or parallel to scale output voltage and current, enabling practical applications such as lighting up LEDs. This study presents a scalable strategy for constructing functional 3D PANI-based architectures and provides new insights into the design of high-performance flexible energy storage devices.