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Synthesis of three-dimensional nitrogen-doped graphene/polyaniline hydrogels for high performance supercapacitor applications

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Abstract

Three-dimensional nitrogen-doped graphene/polyaniline hydrogels (RGNP) was synthesized by facile hydrothermal method with graphene oxide (GO) and polyaniline nanorods (PANI-NRs), and urea as the reducing agent and nitrogen source. The structures and morphologies of the composites were characterized by various techniques, and electrochemical properties were also investigated. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) demonstrated nitrogen atom was doped into graphene and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) indicated PANI-NRs fully inset into the three-dimensional graphene layers. The RGNP composite electrode exhibited the significantly improved electrochemical performances compared to the undoped equivalents or the separate components. The specific capacitance is up to 589.3 Fg−1 at current density of 3 mA cm−2 in 1 M H2SO4 electrolyte, which also displays superior pseudocapacitive cycling stability (retention of 80.5% after 500 cycles). In addition, good capacitance retention rate (80.2% at 30 mA cm−2) has been achieved. These results indicate that the RGNP composite electrode can be applied for high performance supercapacitor.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) (51503092, 51663014), the Foundation of Key Laboratory of Clay Mineral Applied Research of Gansu Province, Lanzhou Institute of Chemical Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CMAR-04) and the Foundation for Innovation Groups of Basic Research in Gansu Province (No. 1606RJIA322).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Petrochemical Technology, Lanzhou University of Technology, Lanzhou, 730050, China

    Hui Xu, Jian Liu, Yong Chen, Chun-Lei Li, Jing Tang & Qi Li

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  1. Hui Xu
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Correspondence to Hui Xu.

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Xu, H., Liu, J., Chen, Y. et al. Synthesis of three-dimensional nitrogen-doped graphene/polyaniline hydrogels for high performance supercapacitor applications. J Mater Sci: Mater Electron 28, 10674–10683 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10854-017-6842-5

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