Effect of Different Electrolytes on the Supercapacitor Behavior of Single and Multilayered Electrode Materials Based on Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube/Polyaniline Composite

Abstract In the present study, the electropolymerization (template synthesis) and then fabrication of symmetrical supercapacitors based on single and multilayered multiwalled carbon nanotube/polyaniline (MWCNT/PA) is achieved. It is found that the morphology and capacitance values depend strongly on the nature and concentration of electrolytes. The presence of micro and mesopores on the MWCNTs provides the space for the deposition of PA on them. The extended conjugation results due to the overlapping of π electron cloud of sp 2 hybridized carbon network of MWCNT with quinoid rings of three layers of PA doped with three dopants. This leads to the highest capacitance of 333 F g −1 and good charge–discharge cycling behavior with 85% charge retention at 1000 cycles for the symmetrical supercapacitor based on the multilayered composite material.