Development of novel poly(o-anisidine) nanocomposite flexible membrane electrodes and characterization of their supercapacitor applications

The continued consumption of fossil fuels has led to various environmental and health issues. Therefore, it is essential to develop reliable and sustainable green energy storage technologies to meet future demands. The development of flexible, low-cost, light-weight, and environmentally safe power sources is one of the highest priorities for storage technologies. To address this, manganese dioxide (MnO2) nanoparticles were successfully synthesized on a substrate of tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) crosslinked poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) membrane. Flexible supercapacitors were then developed using a simple, green, and inexpensive method with citric acid as a reducing agent. The MnO2 nanoparticles coated on poly (vinyl alcohol) tetraethyl orthosilicate (PT) membrane underwent a leach-out process during long-term charge-discharge cycles, which resulted in a significant loss in its specific capacitance. To prevent this leach-out process, o-anisidine was in situ polymerized in the network of PVA-TEOS-MnO2 (PTM) nanocomposite membranes. The electrochemical properties of the electrode membranes were thoroughly examined using cyclic voltammetry, the galvanostatic charge-discharge process, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The PVA-TEOS-MnO2-POA (PTMA) nanocomposite membrane electrode showed a remarkable enhancement in electrochemical performance. The specific capacitance of PTMA nanocomposite membrane was found to be almost two times higher (548.23 F g-1) than that of PTM 230.12 F g-1 at a current density of 0.1 A g-1. Similarly, the energy density of PTMA is 72.12 Wh kg-1 than that of PTM nanocomposite membrane 32.15 Wh kg-1. Therefore, the developed PTMA nanocomposite membrane electrodes are emerging as promising candidates for supercapacitors.