Modified Carbon Fiber Paper-Based Electrodes Wrapped by Conducting Polymers with Enhanced Electrochemical Performance for Supercapacitors

An easy approach to fabricating carbon fiber paper (CFP) based electrodes has been developed. This method can be mainly divided into two steps, for which the mixture of cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) was first deposited on the surface of carbon fiber paper through a vacuum filtration device followed by immersing the hybrid paper into concentrated aniline solution to polymerize polyaniline (PANI). Compared to carbon fiber paper, the acid-treated carbon fiber paper (A-CFP)-based electrode provides more active sites, which are beneficial for the polymerization of polyaniline. The mixture of CNFs and CNTs could coat on the A-CFP by vacuum-filtration due to the high hydrophilicity of A-CFP improved by acid-treatment. PANI with different polymerization time was in-situ synthesized on the surface of the hybrid paper to form a three-dimensional cross-linked structure that greatly enhanced the electrochemical performance of the electrode by improving high capacitance, high rate-capability, and long cycle-life. Moreover, the assembled symmetrical supercapacitor showed a high area capacitance of 626 mF·cm(−2) and an energy density of 87 µWh·cm(−2). This facile, easy performed, and low-cost strategy may provide a feasible method for the production of supercapacitor electrodes.