A POLYANILINE AND NAFION(R) COMPOSITE FILM AS A RECHARGEABLE BATTERY

The charge-discharge characteristics of polyaniline (PAn)-Nafion(R)-PAn composite films used as rechargeable batteries were investigated. The batteries were formed chemically by sandwiching Nafion(R) between two thin layers of PAn-Nafion(R) composite in equilibrium with various electrolytes. It was found that cells with LiClO4 in propylene carbonate as electrolyte showed the highest capacity. The charge and discharge performance of the battery was almost independent of the choice of anions but was significantly affected by cation size. This may indicate that the insertion or removal of charge-compensating electrolyte cations from the composite layer was responsible for the redox of PAn during the charge and discharge cycles.