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The polyaniline/hydrothermal active carbon fiber (PANI/EACF) is designed and acted as supercapacitor electrode for the electrochemical energy storage application. PANI fiber layer with porous structure is fully covered on the surface of EACF substrate to form electroactive PANI/EACF electrode. The active carbon fiber (ACF) conducts the electrochemical oxidation and reduction activation to form EACF with functional hydroxyl group. The PANI/EACF with intermolecular hydrogen bond interaction exhibits the stronger and more stable bonding interface than PANI/ACF with Van der Waals force interaction, which accordingly promotes the interfacial charge transfer and charge storage capacitance in the charge–discharge process. PANI/EACF exhibits higher response current density than PANI/EACF at the same scan rate, indicating higher conductivity and electroactivity of PANI/EACF. The specific capacitance declines from 78.1 to 36.8 F g−1 for PANI/ACF and from 133.5 to 65.3 F g−1 for PANI/EACF when current density increases from 1 to 10 A g−1, presenting the obviously improved capacity. The corresponding capacitance retention, respectively, achieves 47.1 and 48.9%, presenting the slightly increased rate capability. The capacitance retention ratio of PANI/ACF and PANI/EACF achieves 61.4 and 67.1% at 5 A g−1 after 1000 cycles, presenting the slightly increased cycling stability. PANI/EACF with superior capacitive performance in the electrochemical charge–discharge process presents the promising energy storage application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sulfuric acid-doping polyaniline (H-PANI-HSO4) are applied to conduct the electrochemical measurement and simulation calculation to investigate the capacitance, electronic structure and energy band properties. The H-PANI-HSO4 growing on graphite carbon paper (H-PANI-HSO4/GCP) is applied as an electroactive electrode to investigate electrochemical properties. The Faradaic capacitance of H-PANI-HSO4/GCP electrode is ascribed to the reversible redox reaction of bisulfate anion doping/dedoping protonated PANI (H-PANI). Cyclic voltammetry measurement at a scan rate of 5mVs−1 determines an equivalent mean response current of 0.64Ag−1 and a capacitance of 128.35Fg−1. Galvanostatic charge–discharge measurement determines specific capacitance from 129.06 to 116.88Fg−1 at current densities from 0.5 to 2.5Ag−1. Cyclic voltammetry-based capacitance at equivalent current density of 0.64Ag−1 is in accordance with galvanostatic charge–discharge-based capacitance at the current density of 0.57Ag−1. Electrochemical impedance spectrum measurements indicate that H-PANI-HSO4/GCP exhibits lower charge-transfer resistance, much lower Warburg resistance, higher quasicapacitance than H-PANI-HSO4 to approaching ideal capacitor. Density functional theory calculations indicate that H-PANI-HSO4 has a higher density of states (10.6 electron/eV) and lower bandgap energy (0.481eV) than H-PANI (5.24 electron/eV, 1.449eV), indicating its enhanced electronic conductivity. The electronic bandgap energy is accordingly decreased from 0.263eV for H-PANI-HSO4/GCP to 0 for H-PANI-HSO4/GCP. Electrochemical measurement and simulation calculation investigation proves that H-PANI-HSO4/GCP electrode with anion-doped and protonated state exhibits higher electronic conductivity and capacitance performance to act as superior electroactive material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interfacial chemical bonding reinforced activated carbon fiber-m-aminobenzenesulfonic acid-polyaniline (ACF-mABSA-PANI) is designed as an electroactive supercapacitor electrode to achieve long cycle life and high capacitive performance. The ACF-mABSA-PANI molecular involves amide bond (–CO–NH–) between mABSA and ACF, as well as sulfonamide bond (–SO 2 –NH–) between mABSA and PANI. ACF-mABSA-PANI forms a π-π conjugated structure with enhanced electron delocalization and accelerated charge transfer, ultimately leading to reduced interfacial resistance, increased cycle life and superior capacitive performance. [Display omitted] • Bridge molecule-reinforced ACF-mABSA-PANI involves chemical bonding interaction. • ACF-mABSA-PANI shows higher cycle life and specific capacitance than ACF-PANI. • ACF-mABSA-PANI shows fast-Faradaic process dominated energy storage mechanism. • ACF-mABSA-PANI electrode is well used for braidable-supercapacitor application. The bridge molecule-reinforced activated carbon fiber-m-aminobenzenesulfonic acid-polyaniline (ACF-mABSA-PANI) is designed and fabricated as braidable-supercapacitor electrode to achieve long cycle life and high capacitive performance. The mABSA acts as bridge molecule to form amide bond between mABSA and ACF, as well as sulfonamide bond between mABSA and PANI, which is confirmed by infrared spectrometer and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The interfacial interaction between ACF and PANI is enhanced by chemical bonding, thus alleviating the shedding of polyaniline and improving the cycle life of ACF-mABSA-PANI. The electrostatic potential and Mulliken charge analysis calculations indicate that ACF-mABSA-PANI has an extended delocalized π-π conjugation system. The bridge molecule of mABSA improves the free electron migration efficiency between PANI and ACF, leading to an increase in the specific capacitance of ACF-mABSA-PANI. As a result, ACF-mABSA-PANI presents much higher specific capacitance of 599.3F/g at 0.5 A/g and much higher capacitance retention ratio of 93.8 % after 2000 charge/discharge cycles at 2 A/g while ACF-PANI only keeps 335.0F/g and 54.4 %. Braidable-supercapacitor based on ACF-mABSA-PANI electrode provides an energy density of 39.83 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 900 W kg−1 and maintains a high capacitance retention of 78.1 % after 2000 charge/discharge cycles at 2 A/g. Well-designed ACF-mABSA-PANI presents the potential and promising application for wearable electrochemical energy storage devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A ternary coupling material of phosphomolybdic acid cluster bridging carbon dots and polyaniline (CDs-PMo12-PANI) nanofibers is designed to improve electrochemical performance of PANI. The proton-rich PMo12 bonds with PANI via electrostatic interaction to promote the proton-doping level of PANI. The reversible multi-electron redox reactivity of PMo12 contributes to improving pseudo-capacitance of PANI. PMo12 cluster bonds with carbon dots via chemisorption interaction to achieve the immobilization of hydrosoluble PMo12. PMo12 cluster keeps a bridge connection between polyaniline chain and carbon dots. The good electric conductivity of carbon dots and the distinct bonding interface of CDs-PMo12-PANI contribute to improving rate capability and cycling stability of PANI. CDs-PMo12-PANI achieves high specific capacitance of 479 F g−1 at 1 A g−1, reasonable rate capacitance retention of 69.3% when increasing current density from 0.5 to 10 A g−1 and reasonable cycling capacitance retention of 68.1% after 1000 cycles at 5 A g−1. CDs-PMo12-PANI shows higher electrochemical performance of capacitance, rate capability and cycling stability than PANI, PMo12-PANI and CDs-PANI. All-solid-state flexible supercapacitor based on CDs-PMo12-PANI electrode exhibits high specific capacitance of 118.6 F g−1 and specific energy of 37.1 W h kg−1 at 1 A g−1. A single unit of high-performance supercapacitor can directly drive various electronic devices, indicating effective electrochemical energy storage of CDs-PMo12-PANI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The binder-free all-carbonaceous-component electrode was constructed by directly growing electroactive materials of nitrogen-doped carbon (NDC) on the substrate material of carbon paper (CP). The nitrogen-enriched polyaniline could be converted into NDC nanowires to cover on the surface of CP through electro-polymerization and carbonization processes. The polyaniline-derivated NDC electroactive material exhibits high capacity of 404.0 F g −1 at 1.0 A g −1 . The superior capacitance results from the good electron-donor properties of heterocyclic nitrogen distributed in the carbon skeleton and reversible redox reactivity of exocyclic nitrogen-containing functional groups at the edge of carbon skeleton. A low capacity decay of 22% indicates high rate capability when current density increases from 1.0 to 10 A g −1 . A high capacity retention ratio of 95.8% after 5000 cycles at 10.0 A g −1 presents good cycling stability. A symmetrical solid-state supercapacitor was constructed using NDC/CP electrode and polyvinyl alcohol-H 2 SO 4 gel electrolyte. The device delivers a specific capacitance of 187.1 F g −1 at 1.0 A g −1 , an energy density of 66.54 Wh kg −1 at the power density of 0.8 kW kg −1 , the capacity retention ratio of 94.1% after 5000 cycles at 5.0 A g −1 and an output voltage of 1.6 V, which is comparable to the reported state-of-the-art carbon-based supercapacitor. The all-carbonaceous-component electrode presents promising application in electrochemical energy storage devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nickel (II) coordinated polyaniline (PANI-Ni) was designed as active electrode material to improve electrochemical cycling stability of conductive polymer-based supercapacitors. The conductive coordination polymer of PANI-Ni was formed to grow on the substrate of carbon paper through the hydrothermal coordination reaction between Ni(Ac) 2 and PANI. PANI-Ni with intrachain and interchain coordination structure could reinforce the polymer molecule chain strength to overcome volumetric swelling and shrinking during charge/discharge process. The specific capacitance was obviously improved from 234.5 F g −1 for bare PANI to 417 F g −1 for PANI-Ni in 1 M H 2 SO 4 electrolyte at a current density of 1 A g −1 and a potential window of 0.8 V. PANI-Ni electrode shows the cycling capacitance retention of 93% after 1000 cycles at 5 A g −1 . It also showed low capacitance loss of only 12% when the current density increased from 1 to 5 A g −1 , presenting high rate capability. The symmetric PANI-Ni supercapacitor was constructed using PANI-Ni electrode and H 2 SO 4 involved polyvinyl alcohol gel electrolyte. PANI-Ni supercapacitor showed the cycling capacitance retention of 83% after 1000 cycles at an output voltage of 1.7 V and a current density of 5 A g −1 . PANI-Ni conductive coordination polymer presents the promising application prospect of supercapacitor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A binary nanocomposite of polyaniline/tin oxide nanorod array (PANI/SnO NRA) was developed as an electrode material for energy storage. SnO NRA supported on the substrate of carbon fibers was prepared by the seed-assisted hydrothermal synthesis method. PANI/SnO NRA was then obtained by depositing PANI nanowires onto SnO NRA through an electro-polymerization process. SnO NRA presents quadrangular prism shape with a side length of 50~60 nm. PANI nanolayer is loaded into the interspace of the neighboring SnO nanorods to form the core-shell-structured PANI/SnO NRA. Additional PANI nanowires with a diameter of 100~150 nm are formed on the top surface of PANI/SnO NRA. Well-designed PANI/SnO NRA benefited a directional electron transfer along with highly ordered SnO nanorods during an electrochemical reaction process. The interface layer between SnO nanorods and PANI could act as the buffer space to restrain the volumetric change of PANI during the cycling charge-discharge process. Considering electroactive PANI, PANI/SnO NRA exhibited higher specific capacitance of 367.5 F g at 0.5 A g than that of 232.4 F g for bare PANI film. The capacitance retention ratio was enhanced from 60.4% for PANI film to 88.3% for PANI/SnO NRA after 2000 cycles even at a high current density of 5 A g. All-solid-state PANI/SnO supercapacitor was also constructed using symmetric PANI/SnO NRA electrodes and sulfuric acid-polyvinyl alcohol gel electrode, presenting the specific capacitance of 44.9 F g, the energy density of 20.2 Wh Kg, and the output voltage of 1.8 V at 0.2 A g when both PANI and SnO were considered as electroactive materials. PANI/SnO NRA with high capacitance performance presents the promising supercapacitor applications for the electrochemical energy storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon quantum dots-polyaniline (CQDs-PANI) hybrid was developed as supercapacitor electorde material by incorporating CQDs into PANI. PANI nanowires were grown vertically on carbon fiber substrate to form an interconnected network structure. Meanwhile, CQDs were uniformly distributed in the interior and on the surface of well-established net-like PANI nanowires. High specific capacitance of 738.3 F g −1 at 1.0 A g −1 was obtained for CQDs-PANI compared to that of 432.5 F g −1 for pure PANI. The capacitance retention after 1000 cycles of CQDs-PANI and PANI is 78.0% and 68.0% at 5.0 A g −1 , respectively. The high capacitance and reasonable cycle stability were ascribed to the incorporation of CQDs into PANI, which improved the conductivity and alleviated the volume change of the CQDs-PANI electrode during the charge/discharge process. In addition, a flexible solid-state CQDs-PANI supercapacitor was constructed using carbon paper as current collector and polyvinyl alcohol gel electrolyte, exhibiting the stable capacitive performance at planar and bending state. The specific capacitance, energy and power density were determined to be 169.2 mF cm −2 , 33.8 μWh cm −2 and 0.3 mW cm −2 at a potential window of 1.2 V and a current density of 1.0 mA cm −2 . CQDs-PANI presented the promising application in flexible energy-related device. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sandwich-structured polypyrrole layer/KCl-polyacrylamide-gelatin hydrogel/polypyrrole (PPy/KCl-PAM-Gela/PPy) is designed as all-in-one polymer self-healing supercapacitor for flexible electrochemical energy-storage. The self-healing properties of hydrogels are mainly due to the addition of Gela, which also decreases the impedance of hydrogels. The hydrogen bonding heterogeneous interface between electroactive PPy layer and KCl-PAM-Gela hydrogel contributes to lowering interfacial charge transfer resistance, which decreases from 1.46 Ω of PPy/KCl-PAM/PPy to 0.40 Ω of PPy/KCl-PAM-Gela/PPy. The hydrogen bonding homogeneous interface between PAM and Gela contributes to lowering diffusion impedance of KCl electrolyte, which decreases from 14,505 Ω of KCl-PAM to 13,306 Ω of KCl-PAM-Gela. PPy/KCl-PAM-Gela/PPy shows more lowered interface energy rather than PPy/KCl-PAM/PPy, indicating hydrogen bonding heterogeneous interface between PPy and KCl-PAM-Gela is more stable than interface between PPy and KCl-PAM. PPy/KCl-PAM-Gela/PPy shows the decreasing specific capacitance from 408.13 to 110.70 mF cm−2 when current density increases from 0.5 to 4.0 mA cm−2, indicating good rate capability of 27.12%. It also shows the decreasing specific capacitance from 352.41 to 319.20 mF cm−2 after 2000 cycles at 1.0 mA cm−2, indicating cycling capacitance retention of 86.96%. The elongation of PPy/KCl-PAM-Gela/PPy reached 300% and still keeps 225% after hydrogen bond-induced self-healing treatment, presenting good mechanical stability. The sandwich-structured PPy/KCl-PAM-Gela/PPy keeps the reasonable capacitance, mechanical and cycling stability, which acts well as all-in-one polymer self-healing supercapacitor for flexible energy storage application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ternary nanocomposite of polyaniline/carbon/titanium nitride (PANI/C/TiN) nanowire array (NWA) is fabricated as electroactive electrode material for flexible supercapacitor application. Firstly, TiN NWA is formed through ammonia nitridation treatment of TiO 2 NWA, which is synthesized via seed-assisted hydrothermal reaction. PANI/C/TiN NWA is then formed through sequentially coating carbon and PANI on the surface of TiN NWA. PANI/C/TiN NWA has unique shell/shell/core architecture, including a core layer of TiN NWA with a diameter of 40–160 nm and a length of 1.5 μm, a middle shell layer of carbon with a thickness of about 6.0 nm and an external surface layer of PANI with a thickness of 20–50 nm. PANI/C/TiN NWA provides ion diffusion channel at interspaces between the neighboring nanowires and electron transfer route along independent nanowires. The carbon shell layer is able to protect TiN NWA from electrochemical corrosion during charge/discharge process. PANI/C/TiN NWA displays high specific capacitance of 1093 F g −1 at 1.0 Ag −1 , and good cycling stability with a capacity retention of 98% after 2000 cycles, presenting better supercapacitive performance than other integrated nanocomposites of C/PANI/TiN, PANI/TiN and PANI/C/TiO 2 NWA. Such a ternary nanocomposite of PANI/C/TiN NWA can be used as an electrode material of flexible supercapacitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electroactive polyaniline (PANI) and manganese oxide (MnO) were integrated with titanium nitride (TiN) nanowire array (NWA) to form PANI/MnO/TiN ternary nanocomposite for supercapacitor application. TiN NWA was prepared via a seed-assisted hydrothermal synthesis and ammonia nitridization process. The electroactive MnO and PANI was layer-by-layer coated on TiN NWA to form heterogeneous coaxial structure through a stepwise electrodeposition process. Scanning electron micrographs revealed that the well-separated TiN NWA was composed of well-distributed nanowires with diameters in the range of 10-30 nm and a total length of 1.5 μm. A villiform MnO layer with a thickness of 10-20 nm covered on TiN NWA to form MnO/TiN NWA composite. The coral-like PANI layer with thicknesses in the range of 20-50 nm covered on the above MnO/TiN NWA to form PANI/MnO/TiN NWA. Electrochemical measurements showed that a high specific capacitance of 674 F g at a current density of 1 A g (based on total mass of PANI/MnO) was obtained for PANI/MnO/TiN NWA ternary nanocomposite, which was much higher than that of PANI/MnO/carbon-cloth composites reported previously. This ternary nanocomposite also showed a good rate and cycling stability. Moreover, in comparison with PANI/TiN NWA or MnO/TiN NWA, the specific capacitance of PANI/MnO/TiN NWA was obviously enhanced due to the extra pseudocapacitance contribution and the effective surface area of coral-like PANI layer, showing the advantage of manipulating the heterogeneous coaxial configuration between PANI and MnO for fundamentally improved capacitive performance. These results demonstrated that PANI/MnO/TiN NWA ternary nanocomposite was a promising candidate electrode material for supercapacitor application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The polypyrrole/titania/polyaniline (PPy/TiO 2 /PANI) coaxial nanotube hybrid has been prepared through a stepwise electrodeposition process for an electrochemical energy storage. Independent TiO 2 nanotube array was used as the framework, which was formed by anodizing titanium foil at 30 V in fluoride-containing water and ethylene glycol mixture solution. The PPy was selectively coated on the outer surface of TiO 2 nanotube walls to form PPy/TiO 2 through a normal pulse voltammetry electrodeposition process. The PANI was then coated on the inner surface of TiO 2 nanotube walls to form PPy/TiO 2 /PANI coaxial nanotube hybrid through a photoassisted cyclic voltammetry electrodeposition process. The morphology and microstructure feature of PPy/TiO 2 /PANI were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectrum. The capacitance performance was conducted by cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge–discharge measurements. PPy/TiO 2 /PANI coaxial nanotube hybrid with P/N-type doping properties exhibited a high specific capacitance of 497 F g −1 at a current density of 0.5 A g −1 and a potential window of −0.2 to 0.8 V in 1.0 M H 2 SO 4 solution. The capacitance declined from 267.9 to 193.7 F g −1 after 500 cycles at a high current density of 2.0 A g −1 , showing 72.3% capacitance retention and a good cycle stability for the promising supercapacitor application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A polyaniline/titanium nitride (PANI/TiN) nanotube hybrid was prepared and used for an electrochemical supercapacitor application. Firstly, the well-aligned TiN nanotube array was prepared by anodization of titanium foil and subsequent nitridation through ammonia annealing. Then, PANI was deposited into TiN nanotube through the electrochemical polymerization process. The obtained PANI/TiN nanotube hybrid had an ordered porous structure. A high specific capacitance of 1,066 F g was obtained at the charge-discharge current density of 1 A g when only the mass of PANI was considered. The specific capacitance can even achieve 864 F g at 10 A g and still keep 93 % of the initial capacity after 200 cycles. An aqueous supercapacitor, consisting of two symmetric PANI/TiN nanotube hybrid electrodes and 1.0 M HSO electrolyte solution, showed the specific capacitance of 194.8 F g, energy density of 9.74 Wh kg, and power density of 0.3 kW kg. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manganese (II) coordinated polyaniline (PANI‐Mn) is designed as an energy‐storage electrode to improve electrochemical cycling stability of conductive polymer‐based supercapacitors. A PANI‐Mn electrode is synthesized through electro‐polymerization and hydrothermal coordination processes. A tetrahedron coordination structure is formed between manganese (II) dichloride and neighboring imino nitrogen to enforce the bonding strength of conjoint aniline units, restraining excessive volume expansion of the PANI molecule chain. Specific capacitance is enhanced from 350 F g−1 of PANI to 810 F g−1 of PANI‐Mn at 1 A g−1. Cycling capacitance retention is improved from 61% of PANI to 88% of PANI‐Mn at 5 A g−1 for 1000 cycles. PANI‐Mn shows larger response current than PANI at the same potential. First principle calculations prove that PANIs‐Mn exhibits higher density of state at Fermi level than PANI. The conjugated electron delocalization is strengthened in transitional metal‐coordinated conductive polymer, causing the improved conductivity of PANI‐Mn. Furthermore, an all‐solid‐state symmetric supercapacitor based on a PANI‐Mn electrode exhibits an energy density of 51.38 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 850 W kg−1 and a considerable cycling life of 82% after 1000 cycles at 5 A g−1. PANI‐Mn coordination polymer exhibits enhanced electrochemical stability, thus showing promise for energy storage application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bridge molecule thiourea (TU) enforced polyaniline (PANI) growing on activated carbon fiber (ACF) is applied to synthesize PANI-TU-ACF as flexible supercapacitor electrode material which involves an amide-bonding interface between ACF and TU, a hydrogen bonding interface between TU and PANI. [Display omitted] • Bridge molecular thiourea enforces interfacial interaction between ACF and PANI. • Amide bonding PANI and hydrogen bonding ACF improve cyclability of PANI-TU-ACF. • Bridging-structured PANI-TU-ACF is used for braidable-supercapacitor application. The bridge molecule thiourea (TU) enforced polyaniline (PANI) growing on activated carbon fiber (ACF) is applied to synthesize polyaniline-thiourea-activated carbon fiber (PANI-TU-ACF) through surface activation, hydrothermal treatment and electrochemical deposition processes for wearable braidable-supercapacitor. Experimental measurement and theoretical calculation demonstrate that PANI-TU-ACF involves amide bonding interface between ACF and TU and hydrogen bonding interface between TU and PANI, thus confirming the formation of bridging structure. The absorption spectrum red-shift of N–H vibration peak keeps in agreement with the declined bonding energy of N–H bond achieved by partial atom potential simulation calculation, which proves the formation of hydrogen bonding in PANI-TU-ACF. PANI-TU-ACF exhibits larger N(E) value and lower HOMO-LUMO energy gap than PANI-ACF, indicating its higher electrical conductivity. PANI-TU-PANI shows more lowered interface energy than PANI-ACF, suggesting its higher stability. PANI-TU-ACF electrode delivers excellent capacitance of 563.8F/g at 1 A/g and cycling stability of 89.1 % for 2000 cycles. Wearable braidable-supercapacitor based on PANI-TU-ACF electrode delivers energy density of 62.9 Wh kg−1 at power density of 800 W kg−1, maintains high capacitance retention of 90.13 % after 2000 charging/discharging cycles. The interfacial bonding strengthened PANI-TU-ACF with excellent performance displays potential in wearable supercapacitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cobalt (II) coordinated PANI (PANI-Co) was synthesized via a facile electropolymerization and hydrothermal process and applied for energy storage electrode material. The coordination bonding is formed between Co (II) ion and nitrogen of quinonediimine of PANI. PANI-Co achieves higher capacitance of 653 F g−1 at 1 A g−1 than PANI of 459 F g−1, and maintains high capacitance retention of 85.60% when the current density increases from 1 to 10 A g−1. The first-principles calculations result shows the protonated PANI-Co (H-PANI-Co) has much larger Fermi energy (N(E)) than the protonated PANI (H-PANI) and bare PANI, indicating its improved conductivity. The electrostatic potential of H-PANI-Co reveals the enhanced carrier transport behavior. The HOMO−LUMO energy gap decreases from 0.901 eV of PANI to 0.265 eV of H-PANI-Co. Moreover, H-PANI-Co shows less than half deprotonation energy of H-PANI, indicating more feasible protonic acid doping/dedoping process. All-solid-state supercapacitor constructed with PANI-Co electrode and gel electrolyte achieves energy density of 60.1 W h kg−1 at high power density of 900 W kg−1 and exhibits long cycle life with high capacitance retention of 83.8% after 1000 cycles. So, PANI-Co could act as an appropriate energy-storage electrode material. The first-principles calculations provide an alternative theoretical strategy to study the electrical properties of conducting polymer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Hybrid membrane involves electroactive PANI layer and full crack-free carbon layer. • FC@NF shows superior electrochemical anti-corrosion performance in H 2 SO 4 electrolyte. • PANI@FC@NF achieves high capacitance and cycling stability in H 2 SO 4 electrolyte. Hybrid membrane of polyaniline layer/full carbon layer coating on nickel foam (PANI@FC@NF) is designed as supercapacitor electrode with superior anti-corrosion and capacitance performance in an acidic electrolyte. PANI@FC@NF is prepared by fully coating crack-free carbon layer on nickel foam (FC@NF) through hydrothermal and thermal carbonization of glucose, and then PANI layer is coated on FC@NF through the method of electrodeposition. FC@NF shows much lower corrosion current density (0.284 mA cm−2) and higher corrosion potential (-0.171 V) in 1.0 M H 2 SO 4 , compared with NF (7.208 mA cm−2 and -0.208 V). PANI@FC@NF electrode achieves specific capacitance of 610 mF cm−2 at 1.0 mA cm−2 and cycling capacitance retention of 77.63 % at 2.0 mA cm−2 after 1000 cycles in 0.5 M H 2 SO 4. All-solid-state symmetrical supercapacitor using PANI@FC@NF electrode and polyvinyl alcohol-H 2 SO 4 gel electrolyte achieves 41 μWh cm−2 at 0.9 mW cm−2 and an excellent cycling performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]