Electrospinning of Polyaniline/Poly Acrylonitrile/Reduced Graphene Oxide Doped with Aluminium Oxide Nanoparticles for Supercapacitors Application

Abstract

The effects of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and aluminum oxide (Al₂O₃) nanoparticles as additives on poly-aniline (PANI)/poly-acrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers were studied through synthesis using an electrospinner. The AC conductivity and dielectric constants were measured as functions of frequency (1 –200 kHz) and temperature (30 –100 °C) for PANI/PAN/rGO/xAl₂O₃ (x = 0, 0.001, 0.002, 0.004, 0.005) nanofibers. The dielectric characteristics showed that the addition of Al₂O₃ nanoparticles enhanced both the dielectric constant and conductivity, while also reducing dielectric loss. Using cyclic voltammetry (CV), the electrochemical properties of PANI/PAN/rGO/Al₂O₃ nanofibers with varying concentrations of Al₂O₃ were investigated as a potential electrode material for supercapacitors. The electrochemical performance of PAN/PANI/rGO/Al₂O₃ nanofibers with different Al₂O₃ concentrations (ranging from S1 to S5) was tested in 1 M KOH solution. Sample S5 exhibited outstanding supercapacitive performance, with a high areal capacitance of 401 mF cm⁻² at a scan rate of 5 mV s⁻¹. Furthermore, at a scan rate of 50 mV s⁻¹, the PAN/PANI/rGO/Al₂O₃ (S5) nanofibers demonstrated remarkable cyclic stability, retaining 92.3% of their capacitance after 10,000 cycles. The enhanced electrochemical performance of the supercapacitors was attributed to the improved conductivity of the rGO nanosheets (NSs), which facilitated charge transfer and improved the diffusion of KOH electrolyte. These experimental results suggest that rGO NSs hold significant potential as materials for supercapacitor electrodes.