Vertically Aligned Conductive Polymeric Nanotubes Grown on Percolated Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube Films for Supercapacitor Electrodes.

Electrodeposition assisted by nanoporous membranes is a method for synthesizing replicable nanostructures and is used for electropolymerization of conductive polymeric nanotubes (CPNTs). However, the traditional method involves the use of expensive equipment and materials for covering one side of the insulating membranes with a metallic film, which acts as an electrode in an electrodeposition process for self-supporting system fabrication. We propose an approach using multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) as a conductive substrate for the growth of vertically aligned polypyrrole (PPy) and poly-(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene) (PEDOT) nanotubes (when the template is removed) by electropolymerization. The hybrid system of CPNTs grown on a film of percolated MWCNTs was synthesized using electropolymerization and characterized to demonstrate its morphology and chemical composition. These vertically aligned hybrid systems of CPNTs grown on a film of percolated MWCNTs were electrochemically characterized in a three-electrode configuration showing high capacitances and power densities values compared with similar systems fabricated by more complicated routes. This approach paves the way for easy fabrication and implementation of all-organic electrodes, making them candidates for high-performance flexible energy storage devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]