Development of Metal Nanoparticle-Doped Polyanilino-Graphene Oxide High Performance Supercapacitor Cells

dc.contributor.advisorIwuoha, Emmanuel I.
dc.contributor.authorDywili, Nomxolisi Ruth
dc.date.accessioned2018-08-13T13:17:42Z
dc.date.accessioned2024-05-13T12:40:50Z
dc.date.available2018-08-13T13:17:42Z
dc.date.available2024-05-13T12:40:50Z
dc.date.issued2018
dc.descriptionPhilosophiae Doctor - PhD (Chemistry)
dc.description.abstractSupercapacitors, also known as ultracapacitors or electrochemical capacitors, are considered one of the most important subjects concerning electricity or energy storage which has proven to be problematic for South Africa. In this work, graphene oxide (GO) was supported with platinum, silver and copper nanoparticles anchored with dodecylbenzenesulphonic acid (DBSA) doped polyaniline (PANI) to form nanocomposites. Their properties were investigated with different characterization techniques. The high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) revealed GO's nanosheets to be light, flat, transparent and appeared to be larger than 1.5 ?m in thickness. This was also confirmed by high resolution scanning electron microscopy (HRSEM) with smooth surfaces and wrinkled edges observed with the energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) confirming the presence of the functional groups such as carbon and oxygen. The HRTEM analysis of decorated GO with platinum, silver and copper nanoparticles (NPs) revealed small and uniformly dispersed NPs on the surface of GO with mean particle sizes of 2.3 ± 0.2 nm, 2.6 ± 0.3 nm and 3.5 ± 0.5 nm respectively and the surface of GO showed increasing roughness as observed in HRSEM micrographs. The X-ray fluorescence microscopy (XRF) and EDX confirmed the presence of the nanoparticles on the surface of GO as platinum, silver and copper which appeared in abundance in each spectra. Anchoring the GO with DBSA doped PANI revealed that single GO sheets were embedded into the polymer latex, which caused the DBSA-PANI particles to become adsorbed on their surfaces. This process then appeared as dark regions in the HRTEM images. Morphological studies by HRSEM also supported that single GO sheets were embedded into the polymer latex as composite formation appeared aggregated and as bounded particles with smooth and toothed edges.
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10566/14743
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherUniversity of the Western Cape
dc.rights.holderUniversity of the Western Cape
dc.subjectEnergy crisis
dc.subjectSupercapacitors
dc.subjectGraphene oxide
dc.subjectReduced graphene oxide
dc.subjectPlatinum nanoparticles
dc.subjectSilver nanoparticles
dc.subjectCopper nanoparticles
dc.subjectDBSA doped PANI
dc.subjectElectrolytes
dc.subjectGalvanostatic charge-discharge
dc.subjectSpecific discharge capacitance
dc.subjectSpecific charge capacitance
dc.subjectSpecific power
dc.subjectSpecific energy
dc.titleDevelopment of Metal Nanoparticle-Doped Polyanilino-Graphene Oxide High Performance Supercapacitor Cells

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