Supercapacitors (SCs) have got much attention in energy storage devices because of their higher power densities, fast charge-discharge processes, and extended cycle life. Conjugated polymers such as polyaniline (PANI) are widely used for the supercapacitor electrode applications due to its chemical stability, high conductivity, cost-effectiveness and ease of synthesis. PANI/multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) composite was synthesized via in-situ polymerization method. Morphological studies confirmed the formation of PANI/MWCNT composite. Detailed electrochemical characterization was carried out with aluminum and carbon cloth (CC) as a current collector for the fabrication of SC. PANI/MWCNT composite shows a specific capacitance of 0.02 F/g and 158.4 F/g using aluminum and carbon cloth as current collector, respectively, at a current density of 1 A/g within the potential range of 0 to 1 V in 1M lithium perchlorate electrolyte. The Charge storage in PANI/MWCNT composite SC is a combination of pseudocapacitance and electrical double layer capacitance. PANI/MWCNT composite with CC as current collector reaches a specific capacitance of ~174 F/g at a current density of 0.5 A/g. With the CC current collector, the composite electrode shows high cycling stability for more than 1000 cycles. Fiber-like 3D structure improves the surface area of the electrode and thereby increases the performance of the electrode in terms of cycling stability. The result shows that the synthesized binary composite is a promising electrode material for supercapacitor applications.
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