Structural, optical and electrochemical properties of reduced graphene oxide-polyaniline composites for supercapacitor applications

In the present work, polyaniline-reduced graphene oxide (PANI-rGO) nanocomposite films were synthesized by varying their concentration in composites of rGO nanosheets, and ammonium sulfate (NH₄)₂SO₄ was used as a catalyst. The microstructural, structural network, optical, compositional, and electrochemical properties of rGO/PANI nanocomposites were investigated using scanning electron microscopy X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), UV–Vis spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The XRD peaks obtained for both PANI and G/PANI Nanocomposite at 14.5^◦, 19.87^◦, and 25.6^◦, with the corresponding planes of (011), (020), and (200), confirm the successful synthesis of both PANI and G/PANI nanocomposites, resulting in a more ordered structure with high crystallinity during polymerization. FTIR, UV–Vis, and Raman spectroscopy results show that strong π − π interactions aided in the uniform distribution of PANI on the rGO nanosheets. Furthermore, the XPS results demonstrate the presence of C-H, N–H, C–C, and C-O bonds, corroborating the FTIR and Raman spectroscopy findings. The electrochemical properties of the PANI-rGO confirm its possible applications as a promising electrode material for high-performance supercapacitors.