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P3HT:PCBM/nickel-aluminum layered double hydroxide-graphene foam composites for supercapacitor electrodes

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Abstract

In this paper, a simple dip-coating technique is used to deposit a poly (3-hexylthiophene) and [6, 6]-phenyl C61-butyric acid methyl ester (P3HT:PCBM)/nickel–aluminum-layered double hydroxide-graphene foam (NiAl-LDH-GF) composite onto a nickel foam (NF) serving as a current collector. A self-organization of the polymer chains is assumed on the Ni-foam grid network during the slow “dark” drying process in normal air. Electrochemical cyclic voltammetry (CV) and constant charge–discharge (CD) measurements show an improvement in the supercapacitive behavior of the pristine P3HT:PCBM by an order of magnitude from 0.29 F cm−2 (P3HT:PCBM nanostructures) to 1.22 F cm−2 (P3HT:PCBM/NiAl-LDH-GF composite structure) resulting from the addition of NiAl-LDH-GF material at a current density of 2 mA cm−2. This capacitance retention after cycling at 10 mA cm−2 also demonstrates the electrode material’s potential for supercapacitor applications.

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Acknowledgments

This work is based on research supported by the South African Research Chairs Initiative (SARChI) of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the National Research Foundation (NRF).

Conflict of interest

Any opinion, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this work are those of the authors, and therefore, the NRF and DST do not accept any liability with regard thereto. D.M acknowledges the financial support from the NRF Innovation Doctoral Fund and the University of Pretoria PhD bursary scheme for his study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics, Institute of Applied Materials, SARChI Chair in Carbon Technology and Materials, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 0028, South Africa

    Damilola Momodu, Abdulhakeem Bello, Julien Dangbegnon, Farshad Barzeger, Mopeli Fabiane & Ncholu Manyala

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  1. Damilola Momodu
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  2. Abdulhakeem Bello
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  3. Julien Dangbegnon
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  4. Farshad Barzeger
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  5. Mopeli Fabiane
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  6. Ncholu Manyala
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Correspondence to Ncholu Manyala.

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Momodu, D., Bello, A., Dangbegnon, J. et al. P3HT:PCBM/nickel-aluminum layered double hydroxide-graphene foam composites for supercapacitor electrodes. J Solid State Electrochem 19, 445–452 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-014-2602-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10008-014-2602-0

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