Two-step preparation of carbon nanotubes/RuO2/polyindole ternary nanocomposites and their application as high-performance supercapacitors

A ternary single-walled carbon nanotubes/RuO2/polyindole (SWCNT/RuO2/PIn) nanocomposite was fabricated by the oxidation polymerization of indole on the prefabricated SWCNT/RuO2 binary nanocomposites. The nanocomposite was measured by FTIR, XRD, SEM, TEM, EDS and XPS, together with the electrochemical technique. The electrochemical results demonstrated that the symmetric supercapacitor used SWCNT/RuO2/PIn as electrodes presented 95% retention rate after 10000 cycles, superior capacitive performance of 1203 F·g−1 at 1 A·g−1, and high energy density of 33 W·h·kg−1 at 5000 W·kg−1. The high capacitance performance of SWCNT/RuO2/PIn nanocomposite was mainly ascribed to the beneficial cooperation effect among components. This indicated that the SWCNT/RuO2/PIn nanocomposite would be a good candidate for high-performance supercapacitors.