Flower-like MnO2/polyaniline/hollow mesoporous silica as electrode for high-performance all-solid-state supercapacitors

Abstract Polyaniline (PANI) and manganese dioxide (MnO2) are prospective electrode materials owing to their excellent specific capacitance, controllable morphologies and low cost. However, the cyclic stability of PANI is normally not good due to its unavoidable structure collapse during the charge/discharge process. The power density of MnO2 is quite low owing to its poor electronic and ionic conductivity. In this study, a ternary nanocomposite, flower-like MnO2/polyaniline/hollow mesoporous silica (MPHMS), is prepared using a facile chemical method. The MPHMS demonstrates a high specific surface area of 130.14 m2 g−1. The specific capacitance of MPHMS is 428.6 Fg-1 at 4 A g−1 and reaches 485.7 F g−1 after 3000 cycles. The MPHMS as electrode material in an asymmetric all-solid-state supercapacitor exhibits a remarkable specific capacitance of 248.5 F g−1 at 1 A g−1, retaining 97.7% of the initial capacitance after 5000 circulations with a high energy density of 88.4 Wh kg−1 at 800 W kg−1. The remarkable electrochemical properties of MPHMS are ascribed to the flower-like ternary structure and the synergistic effect between PANI and MnO2. MPHMS is regarded as a promising candidate for the practical application in all-solid-state supercapacitors.