Capacitive performance of polyaniline/manganese dioxide nanofiber microsphere

This work has obtained polyaniline/manganese dioxide (PANI/MnO₂) nanofibers microsphere by interfacial chemical synthesis with 4‐amino‐thiophenol (4‐ATP) as the structure‐directing agent on the Au substrate. The cyclic voltammograms, galvanostatic charge–discharge, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy were used to determine their capacitive performance. Powder X‐ray diffraction, thermogravimetry and differential scanning calorimetry, Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area measurements, and scanning electron microscope were performed for physical and chemical characterization. The effect of 4‐ATP and acids on the capacitive performance of PANI/MnO₂ nanofibers microsphere was elucidated. The as‐prepared PANI/MnO₂ was nanofiber about 30 nm diameters, and they further self‐assembled into sphere. Its specific capacitance is up to 765 F g^?1 at 1.0 mA cm^?2 in 1.0M Na₂SO₄ solution. And it shows a high stability with a capacitance fade of only 14.9% after 400 charge–discharge cycles. The symmetric capacitor of PANI/MnO₂ (PM10+)/PANI/MnO₂ (PM10?) is assembled in 1.0M Na₂SO₄ solution, and its capacitive performance is compared with that of PANI (+)/PANI (?) and MnO₂ (+)/MnO₂ (?). © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2014 , 131, 40575.