Controllable Preparation of Polyaniline–Graphene Nanocomposites using Functionalized Graphene for Supercapacitor Electrodes

In order to explore the effect of graphene surface chemistry on electrochemical performance based on polyaniline–graphene hybrid material electrodes, four different polyaniline–graphene nanocomposites were fabricated with graphene oxide, reduced graphene oxide, aminated graphene and sulfonated graphene as carriers, respectively. The nanocomposites feature various structures and morphologies, which could be used to more deeply understand the morphology and structure effects caused by surface chemistry on electrochemical performance. The experimental results reveal that functionalized electronegative graphene was conducive to the vertical and neat growth of polyaniline (PANI) nanorods. The array architecture endowed the PANI–GS nanocomposite with a large ion‐accessible surface area and high‐efficiency electron‐ and ion‐transport pathways. Meanwhile, the introduction of sulfonic acid functional groups accelerated the redox reaction with doping and dedoping of the PANI. Thereby, the PANI–GS nanocomposite exhibited a high specific capacitance of 863.2 F g^?1 at a current density of 0.2 A g^?1 and the excellent rate capability of 67.4 % (581.6 F g^?1 at 5 A g^?1), which were much better than the other three nanocomposites produced.