Synthesis and characterization of reduced graphene oxide/magnetite/polyaniline composites as electrode materials for supercapacitors

The ternary composites consisted of reduced graphene oxide, magnetite, and polyaniline (rGO/Fe3O4/PANI) were synthesized by a simple procedure. Fe3O4 nanoparticles were produced by chemical precipitation route and then hybridized with rGO through chemical reduction of GO. PANI chains were grown by in situ polymerization on the rGO/Fe3O4 to attain the ternary composite powders. The synthesized composites were characterized by XRD, UV-Vis, FTIR, Raman, FESEM, and EDS techniques. The results confirm the formation of PANI nanofibers beside rGO nanoplatelets decorated by crystallized Fe3O4 nanoparticles. The electrochemical behavior of the synthesized composites as electrode materials for supercapacitors was evaluated by CV, EIS, and GCD tests. The unique nanostructure of the synthesized composites and the synergic interaction among rGO nanoplatelets, Fe3O4 nanoparticles, and PANI chains result in the superior performance of the ternary composite in the charge storage. The rGO/Fe3O4/PANI electrode unveils a high specific capacitance of 610.4 F g(-1) and excellent cyclic stability with a retention ratio of 87% after 1000 cycles at 1 A g(-1). Although increasing the PANI content in the rGO/Fe3O4/PANI composite degrades the electrochemical performance of the electrode, but the specific capacitance of the ternary composite electrode is still higher than the sole PANI and Fe3O4 or the binary rGO/Fe3O4 composite.