Catalyst controlled synthesis of porous organic polymers and their SWCNT composites for high performance supercapacitor applications

The present study discusses the importance of catalyst selectivity for the preparation of homocoupling polymers for CO2 gas adsorption and supercapacitor applications. N, N′-bicarbazole based conjugated porous organic polymers (TGs) have been synthesized through sonogashira (TGPd/Cu), glaser (TGCuCl) and Eglington (TGCu(OAc)2) protocols. Here, TGPd/Cu acquired high specific surface area (923 m2 g−1), uniform pores (2 nm), and excellent CO2 adsorption (16.1 wt%). The synthesized TG polymers was utilized as efficient electrode for supercapacitor studies. TGPd/Cu exhibits a maximum capacitance of 248 F g−1 at 0.5 A g−1 current density. To enhance the electrochemical performances, the prepared TGs melded with single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNT) and the fabricated TGPd/Cu/SWCNT electrode demonstrates a maximum specific capacitance of 523 F g−1 at 0.5 A g−1 current density with an outstanding cycling stability of 98.1% after 5000 cycles in three electrode system. The fabricated TGPd/Cu/SWCNT device showed a capacitance of 129 F g−1 at 0.5 A g−1 with high-capacity retention of 82.5% after 5000 cycles in two electrode system. Consequently, TGPd/Cu/SWCNT appear to be promising electroactive material for use as electrode in electrochemical energy storage systems. The satisfactory electrochemical performance can be attributed to the successfully π- π stacking of the TGPd/Cu onto the nanotube surface and the synergy between TGPd/Cu and highly conductive SWCNT which significantly advanced the electron transport properties of the explored composites.