Effect of PANI over Electrochemical Properties of V2O5 PANI Nanocomposites for Energy Storage Nanodevices

Abstract

The primary concern in addressing the need for supercapacitors with high energy density is the advancement of electrode materials that possess a broad potential range and exhibit a high specific capacitance for energy storage devices. Metal oxides due to high specific capacitances are worthy for electrode material yielding high energy and power delivering capacities. Among them, the Vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) has gained a persistent interest as a supercapacitor electrode due to excellent electrochemical property, cost effectiveness, layered structure, and many oxidation states (2+ to 5+). The addition of conducting polymers with V2O5 host matrix is expected to significantly tune the electrodes properties of supercapacitors. The desired V2O5 and its composites (V2O5 PANI) have been prepared with simple and versatile chemical methods to improve the electrical conductivity, electrode permeability and surface area of the electrode by moderating the agglomeration rate. The structural studies have clearly revealed that the V2O5-PANI nanocomposites are successfully prepared with single phase component structures having plenty of structural defects. The vibrational analysis for the existence of functional groups has further confirmed the successful formation of nanocomposites. The band gap energy of V2O5-PANI nanocomposites is significantly narrowed with addition of PANI which is potential for rapid charge and discharge of energy storage devices due to the more easily movement of electrons with better electron mobility and enhanced electrical conductivity. The electrochemical studies of the prepared nanocomposites depict that the capacitance is significantly enhanced with addition of different ratios of conducting nature of PANI polymer. It is interestingly observed that (V2O5)0.50(PANI )0.50 has shown highest capacitance of 745 F/g with low ohmic resistance of 0.24 Ω. This high capacitance with low Ohmic resistance of the prepared nanocomposites is highly suitable for energy storage devices with low voltage drop, low energy loss in form of heat with high efficiency and less thermal stress with large lifetime of the capacitor.