Enriched Doping Level and Tuned Fiber Fractal Dimensions in Nonwoven Carbon-Doped Polyaniline for Efficient Solid-State Supercapacitors

Nonwoven fibrous mats of polyaniline/carbon black on conducting substrates are synthesized through a two-step oxidative process. Adsorbed and catalyzed aniline monomers in the synthesis process improved the doping degree (0.381) in the hybrid fibers. The formation of a porous mat on substrates was confirmed by using electron microscopy and small-angle X-ray scattering. The fractal dimensions of the fibers are correlated with Porod's law and suggest the presence of a nonfractal structure in the PCN1 mat. The hybrid mat exhibited a high porosity and effective surface area, even interfaces, and conductive pathways for the electrode/electrolyte to improve the kinetic process. Electrochemical measurements have been conducted on developed fibers, which showed a high specific capacitance of around 1526Fg(-1), excellent cyclic stability, and elevated energy density (212Whkg(-1)) after doping carbon into polyaniline (PANI). Additionally, a symmetric solid-state supercapacitor device was fabricated, a capacitance around 270Fg(-1) was measured, and it was able to light a commercial light-emitting diode (LED).