Two-step preparation of carbon nanotubes/RuO<sub>2</sub>/polyindole ternary nanocomposites and their application as high-performance supercapacitors

doi:10.1007/s11706-020-0497-5

Front. Mater. Sci.

2020, Vol. 14

Issue (2) : 109-119 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11706-020-0497-5

RESEARCH ARTICLE

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

Danhua ZHU¹, Qianjie ZHOU¹, Aiqin LIANG¹, Weiqiang ZHOU¹(

), Yanan CHANG¹, Danqin LI¹, Jing WU¹, Guo YE¹, Jingkun XU¹(

), Yong REN²

¹. Jiangxi Key Laboratory of Organic Chemistry, Jiangxi Science and Technology Normal University, Nanchang 330013, China
². Department of Mathematical Sciences, Zibo Normal College, Zibo 255130, China

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Abstract

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.

Keywords SWCNT/RuO₂/PIn nanocomposite supercapacitor

Corresponding Author(s): Weiqiang ZHOU,Jingkun XU

Online First Date: 06 May 2020 Issue Date: 27 May 2020

Cite this article:

Danhua ZHU,Qianjie ZHOU,Aiqin LIANG, et al. Two-step preparation of carbon nanotubes/RuO₂/polyindole ternary nanocomposites and their application as high-performance supercapacitors[J]. Front. Mater. Sci., 2020, 14(2): 109-119.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/foms/EN/10.1007/s11706-020-0497-5
https://academic.hep.com.cn/foms/EN/Y2020/V14/I2/109

Fig.1 (a) The preparation process of SWCNT/RuO₂/PIn nanocomposite. SEM images of (b) SWCNT/PIn, (c) SWCNT/RuO₂ and (d) SWCNT/RuO₂/PIn samples. (e) Elemental mapping images of SWCNT/RuO₂/PIn.

Fig.2 TEM images of (a) SWCNT, (b) SWCNT/PIn, (c) SWCNT/RuO₂ and (d) SWCNT/RuO₂/PIn.

Fig.3 (a) XRD, (b) FTIR and (c) XPS spectra of SWCNT, RuO₂, SWCNT/RuO₂, SWCNT/PIn and SWCNT/RuO₂/PIn samples.

Fig.4 Electrochemical performance of SWCNT/PIn, SWCNT/RuO₂ and SWCNT/RuO₂/PIn electrodes: (a) CV at 5 mV·s⁻¹; (b) GCD at 0.5 A·g⁻¹; (c) the relationship between specific capacitance and scan rate; (d) the relationship between specific capacitance and current densities; (e) Nyquist plots; (f) cycle life.

Fig.5 Scheme 1 Reaction mechanisms of RuO₂ and PIn electrodes in H₂SO₄ solution, respectively.

Tab.1 Capacitance and cycling life comparison of SWCNT/RuO₂/PIn with some important composites materials [¹⁴–¹⁶,²⁰,²⁵,³³,⁴²–⁴⁹]

Fig.6 Electrochemical performance of the supercapacitor based on SWCNT/RuO₂/PIn: (a) CV at different scan rates; (b) specific capacitance as a function of current density (inset: GCD at different current densities); (c) Ragone plots of supercapacitor in comparison with the values reported for other devices; (d) cycle life at 10 A·g⁻¹.

Fig. S1 The energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) result of SWCNT/RuO₂/PIn.

Fig. S2 The XRD pattern of rutile RuO₂ (JCPDS card No. 43-1027).

Fig. S3 CV curves of RuO₂, PIn, SWCNT/PIn and SWCNT/RuO₂ electrodes in 1.0 mol·L⁻¹ H₂SO₄ solution at 10 mV·s⁻¹.

Fig. S4 Electrochemical performance of the SWCNT electrode: (a) CV curves at different scan rates; (b) GCD at different current densities; (c) the relationship between specific capacitance and current density; (d) the Nyquist plot.

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