Preparation of 4‐Methylaniline Reduced Graphene Oxide/Polyaniline Composite by One‐pot Method: The Effect of Aniline Amount on the Microstructure and Electrochemical Performance

In this study, reduced graphene oxide (GO)/polyaniline composites (GP) were successfully fabricated through a novel one‐pot synthesis route with 4‐methylaniline as a reductant for GO followed by in‐situ polymerization of aniline. The results of X‐ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy revealed that GO was successfully reduced by 4‐methylaniline. Meanwhile, the effect of aniline amount on the microstructure and electrochemical performance of the as‐prepared GP was optimized by tuning the feed ratios of aniline to GO. The results demonstrated that the feed ratio of aniline to GO played a very significant role in constructing the nano‐structure of GP, and furthermore determined their electrochemical performance. GP displayed a layer‐like structure evenly covered by polyaniline (PANI) nanowires with the feed ratio of aniline to GO of 30/1 (m/m). Under this condition, the composite exhibited a maximum specific capacitance of 530.4 F g⁻¹ at a current density of 0.5 A g⁻¹, remarkably higher than that of unitary PANI (367.9 F g⁻¹), and showed an excellent rate performance (411.1 F g⁻¹ at 20 A g⁻¹) as well. Moreover, the composite delivered good cycling stability with less than 8% decrease in the specific capacitance after 2000 cycles at a scan rate of 100 mV s⁻¹, which was a great improvement over the unitary PANI (69.1%). POLYM. COMPOS., 40:E877–E885, 2019. © 2018 Society of Plastics Engineers