Well-Constructed CNT Mesh/PANI Nanoporous Electrode and Its Thickness Effect on the Supercapacitor Properties

Abstract

In this work, a well-constructed carbon nanotube (CNT) mesh/polyaniline (PANI) composite film was fabricated as the electrode of flexible supercapacitor via alternatively cross-stacking superaligned CNT sheets and in situ coating PANI from chemical solution. Compared with other CNT/PANI composites using random-constructed CNT network as backbone, this composite has a remarkable uniform and oriented structure in both the plane and thickness direction with a thickness as low as 0.8 μm. As its electrode thickness can be easy-controlled, the electrode thickness dependence of the assembled supercapacitor performance was precisely measured, and the possible cause was analyzed. The results showed that there exists an optimal electrode thickness of about 5 μm or less for achieving the highest electrode specific capacitance, energy density, and power density. Its highest electrode power density (9.0 kW kg–1) is much higher than that of the ever reported CNT/PANI composites prepared by other methods. Such composite may have great application potentials on new flexible devices for energy storage.