Flexible and freestanding supercapacitor based on nanostructured poly(m-aminophenol)/carbon nanofiber hybrid mats with high energy and power densities

Nanostructured poly(m-aminophenol) (PmAP) coated freestanding carbon nanofiber (CNF) mats were fabricated through simple in situ rapid-mixing polymerization of m-aminophenol in the presence of a CNF mat for flexible solid-state supercapacitors. The surface compositions, morphology and pore structure of the hybrid mats were characterized by using various techniques, e.g., FTIR, Raman, XRD, FE-SEM, TEM, and N₂ absorption. The results show that the PmAP nanoparticles were homogeneously deposited on CNF surfaces and formed a thin flexible hybrid mat, which were directly used to made electrodes for electrochemical analysis without using any binders or conductive additives. The electrochemical performances of the hybrid mats were easily tailored by varying the PmAP loading on a hybrid electrode. The PmAP/CNF-10 hybrid electrode with a relatively low PmAP loading (> 42 wt%) showed a high specific capacitance of 325.8 F g⁻¹ and a volumetric capacitance of 273.6 F cm⁻³ at a current density of 0.5 A g⁻¹, together with a specific capacitance retention of 196.2 F g⁻¹ at 20 A g⁻¹. The PmAP/CNF-10 hybrid electrode showed good cycling stability with 88.2% capacitance retention after 5000 cycles. A maximum energy density of 45.2 Wh kg⁻¹ and power density of 20.4 kW kg⁻¹ were achieved for the PmAP/CNF-10 hybrid electrode. This facile and cost-effective synthesis of a flexible binder-free PmAP/CNF hybrid mat with excellent capacitive performances encourages its possible commercial exploitation. (paper)