Titania/Bismuth vanadate embedded Polyaniline for enhanced electrochemical energy storage

Composites based on conducting polymers and metal oxides have been extensively explored as promising electrode materials for energy storage and conversion devices. Herein, a novel and efficient electrode material based on loading of TiO2 (T)/BiVO4 (BV) on to DBSA doped Polyaniline (PANI) is reported. FTIR, UV-Vis and Energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis were used to validate the incorporation of T and BV into PANI, while scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to study the surface features. XRD pattern of PANI/BV/T demonstrated the transformation of amorphous PANI to crystalline composite. SEM image displaced the granular morphology of PANI having BV/T randomly dispersed on PANI surface. Cyclic Voltammetry (CV), Galvanic Charge Discharge (GCD), and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) were used to examine the electrochemical performance. In comparison to PANI, PANI/BV, and PANI/T, the PANI/BV/T ternary composite exhibited enhanced electrochemical performance. The PANI and PANI/BV/T composite showed specific capacitance (Csp) values of 895 Fg- 1 and 1,234 Fg- 1 respectively. While Csp of PANI/BV/T composite calculated from GCD was found to be 703 Fg- 1 at 1 Ag- 1. The electrode material based on the PANI/BV/T composite demonstrated a high energy density of 62.48 Wh Kg- 1 at 400 WKg- 1 power density. The enhanced energy storage properties of PANI/BV/T based material is attributed to the fast transport of ions across the electrode electrolyte interface as demonstrated by low charge transfer resistance (Rct) of 0.999 Omega.