Font Size: 

Straight long nanofibers, hollow cylinders as well as nanoparticle aggregations, were observed in modified interfacial polymerization at the presence of different acids, such as HCl, HNO3 and H2SO4, respectively. The long nanofibers with thin diameter of 20 nm and smooth surface especially the high crystallinity are distinct from traditional amorphous forms, and hollow structures with various opening extents are the first time to present in interfacial polymerization, together with another novel nanoparticles possessing poor orientation. Electrochemical properties were characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge-discharge (CD) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) coupled with a schematic equivalent-circuit model, to further investigate the effect of acid nature on capacitor behavior. PANI doped with H2SO4 exhibits the highest specific capacity of 141.9 F/g due to its poorest crystallinity and longest conjugated length, and the desirable nanofibers show the poorest capacitance property despite of highly ordered molecule chains, which may hinder the electron movement in active materials. Additionally, hollow cylinders provide high interfacial area between electrode and electrolyte where occurs the charge transference and ion inserting/escaping process, thus leading to minor resistance.

polyaniline nanofibers, hollow structures, morphology, acid nature, supercapacity properties