In situ one-pot synthesis of graphene–polyaniline nanofiber composite for high-performance electrochemical capacitors

In this work, graphene–polyaniline nanofiber (G/PANI-F) composite is prepared through a new and one-pot method that includes the reduction of graphene oxide (GO) by aniline and then followed by in-situ polymerization. Aniline plays the two roles in this method: as a chemical reducing agent to reduce GO to graphene and as a monomer to prepare polyaniline nanofiber (PANI-F). Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectra, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy are employed to confirm that GO can be reduced by aniline and PANI-F can be deposited on the surface of graphene. The electrochemical properties of G/PANI-F composite electrode are measured by using cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge–discharge test and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The G/PANI-F composite electrode exhibits enhanced specific capacitance of 965 F g−1 at 0.5 A g−1 and the capacity retention is 90% after 2000 cycles.