Highly rate and cycling stable electrode materials constructed from polyaniline/cellulose nanoporous microspheres

Abstract

To resolve the problem of the pulverization and rapid capacity fading of polymer electrodes, novel electrode materials were constructed from polyaniline/cellulose microspheres (PANI/CM), which were fabricated via in situ synthesis of PANI on cellulose matrix by using phytic acid (PA) as a “bridge”, for the first time. The constructing of the PANI/PA/CM successfully resolved the problem of the pulverization of PANI to be used as electrode materials. In our findings, the PANI subparticles with nanomesh structure were dispersed homogeneously in the cellulose microspheres from inside to outside, as a result of the firm connection between the hydrophobic PANI and the hydrophilic cellulose through the PA “bridge” to create micro- and nano-porous architecture. Meanwhile, the other parts of PANI deposited on the surface of the microspheres to form a loose coralline structure, leading to the ion channels for the electrolyte penetration. The PANI/PA/CM composite electrodes exhibited excellent cycling stability (over 12 000 cycles) and high rate capability, showing great potential for use in energy-storage devices.