Polyaniline-MnO2 Nanocomposite Supercapacitor Electrodes Prepared by Galvanic Pulse Polymerization

Nanocomposites of conducting polymers with certain transition metal oxides which show various oxidation states are being actively researched as potential supercapacitor electrode materials. By itself poor electrical conductivity of the transition metal oxides e.g MnO2, NiO etc. is the major limiting factor in their supercapacitor application [1]. On the other hand, conducting polymers which show excellent electrochemical reversibility, fast switching between redox states, high conductivity in a doped state, and also have low cost are attractive for supercapacitor electrode application [2]. However, their poor cycle life and lack of mechanical stability hinders practical applications. Nanocomposites of metal oxides (such as MnO2) in a conducting matrix such as conducting polymers provide a good approach to overcome these limitations. Dispersion of metal oxide within conducting polymer without agglomeration and loss of conduction in a nanocomposite is important for taking advantage of the pseudocapacitive properties of both components. Towards this objective we have carried out in situ formation of polyaniline (PANI) and MnO2 nanocomposite by single step pulse electrochemical co-deposition and investigated in detail the electrochemical performance of the composite electrode material.