Graphene oxide-polyaniline nanocomposites for high performance supercapacitor and their optical, electrical and electrochemical properties

Polyaniline/Graphene oxide (PA/GO) composites were prepared by chemical polymerization of aniline with different wt% of GO under acid conditions. The synthesized samples were characterized by using Fourier transform infra red spectroscopy, ultraviolet–visible absorption, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and thermogravimetric analysis. It is found that the dc electrical conductivity dramatically increased to 84 S/m for PA/GO (5 wt%) composite at 150 °C compared to pure PA (0.075 S/m). The PA/GO composites showed a reversible electrochemical response up to 150th repeated cycles as revealed by the cyclic voltammetry study. High specific capacitance of PA/GO composite of 543.75 F/g was obtained in the potential range from 0 to 0.50 V at 2 mA compared with 266.66 F/g for pure PA by galvanostatic charge–discharge analysis. Incorporation of GO into the polymer matrix has a pronounced effect on the electrical conductivity and electrochemical capacitance performance of PA/GO nanocomposites.