Graphene oxide doped poly (styrene-co-maleic anhydride) for high energy supercapacitors

Abstract

Reliable energy storage materials which can provide enhanced capacitance with good cycling stability along with improved energy and power densities are exceedingly relevant in the commercial arena to attenuate the prevalent energy shortage. Polymers with structural flexibility and good mechanical and thermal stability can be coupled with carbon-based additives to obtain an electrochemical platform for energy storage without compromising on the required thermal and mechanical attributes. Here, styrene maleic-anhydride copolymer has been modified with a diamine to form a polyimide. These samples have been characterized using UV- Visible, 13C NMR, FTIR, FT Raman spectroscopy, TGA, DSC, BET, SEM, TEM and XRD techniques to understand and substantiate the spectral, morphological and electrochemical characteristics of the polymer nanocomposites. Efficacious intercalation of Graphene oxide has resulted in the formation of polymer nanocomposites which can act as excellent supercapacitor electrodes with a high specific capacitance of 700 F/g at 0.5 A/g and an energy and power density of 129.23 Wh kg−1 and 5572 Wkg−1 respectively.