Synthesis of NiCo2O4/rGO/PANI ternary nanocomposite for electrochemical performance and impact of doping on pure PANI

The current research work incorporates the synthesis of pure polyaniline and ternary nanocomposite by in situ chemical oxidation polymerization. XRD study proclaims the formation of NiCo2O4/rGO/PANI with both broader polyaniline and sharp NiCo2O4/rGO peaks. Infrared spectroscopy of NiCo2O4/rGO/PANI shows the presence of all vibrational bands that are present in pure polyaniline with some additional bands of spinel metal oxide. The particle size from the FESEM micrograph using ImageJ software affirms the formation of a synthesized composite in the nanometer range. The electrochemical testing (CV, GCD, and EIS) of the NiCo2O4/rGO/PANI nanocomposite affirms that the ternary composite exhibits higher electrochemical activities than pure polyaniline owing to the frequent movement of electrons at the interface of electrode-electrolyte, greater porosity, and multiple redox reactions. Higher doping of NiCo2O4/rGO (= 10%) in PANI also degrades the properties of pure PANI rather than increasing it due to the high agglomeration of rGO molecules with the PANI matrix.