Enhanced electrochemical properties of polyaniline (PANI) films electrodeposited on carbon fiber felt (CFF): Influence of monomer/acid ratio and deposition time parameters in energy storage applications

The growing demand for materials with high charge storage capacity, power, and energy density, and a long-life cycle became devices developed for the high power delivery require as supercapacitors the subject of intense research. Conductive polymers are a class of materials widely used in the development of supercapacitors. In particular, PANI is a promising polymer in electrode development due to its high specific capacitance, conductivity, flexibility, thermal stability, and low cost. Carbon felt fiber (CFF) is frequently used as a conductive substrate in the development of composites due to its physicochemical stability, good cost-benefit, and easy obtainability, being an excellent material for the preparation of devices of different shapes. In this work, composite electrodes were prepared by electrodeposition of PANI on CFF substrate according to a systematic study involving two different heat treatments, four synthesis times, and two molar proportions with the aid of the Kruskal-Wallis test to validate the importance of the variables concerning the specific capacitance and the mass of PANI deposited. The samples were characterized by physical-chemical instrumental techniques, for characterization of the local and crystalline structure, in addition to morphological analysis. Finally, the composites were evaluated using electrochemical techniques to analyze their performance in supercapacitor devices. Based on the analyzed data, it was found that all parameters are relevant for the optimization of the system in the preparation of materials with greater load storage capacity. Thus, among all the conditions, the specific capacitance that stands out the most is that obtained by the sample CFF 2000 2:1 1350s reaching the value of 303.76 F. g-1.