Research Article
Influence of Concentration and Electrodeposition
Time on the Electrochemical Supercapacitor Performance of
Poly(3,4-Ethylenedioxythiophene)/Graphene Oxide
Hybrid Material
Nur Hawa Nabilah Azman,
1
Hong Ngee Lim,
1,2
and Yusran Sulaiman
1,2
1
Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia
2
Functional Device Laboratory, Institute of Advanced Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), 43400 Serdang,
Selangor, Malaysia
Correspondence should be addressed to Yusran Sulaiman; yusran@upm.edu.my
Received 14 August 2016; Revised 27 October 2016; Accepted 8 November 2016
Academic Editor: Stefano Bellucci
Copyright © 2016 Nur Hawa Nabilah Azman et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons
Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is
properly cited.
Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/graphene oxide (PEDOT/GO) composites with wrinkled paper-like sheets morphology were
electropolymerized potentiostatically at 1.2 V with diferent electrodeposition times (1–30 min) and various concentrations of GO
(0.5, 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 mg/mL). Te electrochemical properties of PEDOT/GO composites as an electrode material for supercapacitor
were investigated using cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), and galvanostatic charge-discharge
(GCD). Te CV results revealed that PEDOT/GO containing 1.0 mg/mL GO and electropolymerized for 10 minutes exhibited the
highest specifc capacitance (157.17F/g). Tis optimum PEDOT/GO was found to have energy and power density of 18.24 W/kg
and 496.64 Wh/kg, respectively, at 1.0 A/g current density. Te resistance of charge transfer obtained for PEDOT/GO is very low
(13.10 Ω) compared to PEDOT (638.98 Ω), proving that PEDOT/GO has a good supercapacitive performance due to the synergistic
efect of the high conductivity of PEDOT and large surface area of GO.
1. Introduction
In recent years, there has been a greater demand for energy
storage devices due to the defciency of energy source. Tere-
fore, the development of energy storage device such as super-
capacitor is expanding rapidly. Supercapacitor also known
as ultracapacitor is an electrical energy storing device which
bridges the gap between batteries and capacitors [1, 2]. Super-
capacitor possesses fast charge-discharge cycle, high power
density, and longer life span and is also environmentally
friendly compared to battery [3]. Supercapacitor has a poten-
tial to deliver greater acceleration (through rapid discharge
capability) and enhance the regenerative braking systems
(through fast charge capability) for hybrid and pure electric
vehicles [4]. However, the energy density of batteries is
greater in comparison to supercapacitors [5].
Supercapacitors can be classifed into two main categories
based on its charge storage mechanism, that is, electric dou-
ble-layer capacitor (EDLC) and pseudocapacitor. EDLC
stores charge non-Faradaically or electrostatically in double
layers where there is no electron transfer occurring at the
interface of the electrode [6, 7]. Graphene, activated carbon,
and carbon nanotubes (CNT) with high porosity and surface
area are types of carbon-based materials used for EDLC [8].
Pseudocapacitor which is made up of pseudocapacitive mate-
rials, that is, metal oxides and conducting polymers (CPs),
stores charges Faradaically or through redox reactions which
occur at the electrolyte/electrode interface that contribute the
capacitance [9, 10].
EDLC compared to pseudocapacitor is able to deliver
higher power density and longer life cycle due to the high
porosity, mechanical strength, and surface area provided by
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Journal of Nanomaterials
Volume 2016, Article ID 5935402, 10 pages
http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/5935402