Green synthesis of silver nanoparticles embedded in polyaniline nanofibers via vitamin C for supercapacitor applications

The silver nanoparticles with high dispersion on the surface of polyaniline (PANI/Ag) was acquired by reduction of silver nitrate with the assistance of vitamin C acting as an environmentally friendly reducing agent. The surface morphology of the PANI/Ag composite revealed the PANI nanofibers with bright spots of silver nanoparticles. Specifically, this study could open an avenue for environmentally friendly, simple and cost effective methods in the surface functionalization and generation of silver nanoparticles into the PANI chains. The PANI/Ag composite exhibited the excellent capacitive performance with a specific capacitance as high as 553 F g−1 at 1 A g−1 because of the synergic effect of PANI and silver nanoparticles, which was much higher than that of PANI (316 F g−1). Moreover, its electrical conductivity was 215.8 S cm−1. Eventually, the greatly enhanced capacitive performance was mainly attributed to the silver nanoparticles, which could increase the electrical conductivity and promote the electron transfer between the active components.