Two-Dimensional Metal–Organic Framework Nanosheets Grown on Carbon Fiber Paper Interwoven with Polyaniline as an Electrode for Supercapacitors

Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have been identified as potential supercapacitor electrode materials for high porosity and tunable structure. Among them, 2D MOFs combine the advantages of MOFs and 2D morphology. In this study, leaflike zeolitic imidazolate framework nanosheets (named ZIF-L) were grown onto carbon fiber paper (CFP) by a facile one-step soaking method without conductive additives or binders. As a contrast, 3D ZIF-67 nanoparticles were also used as electrode materials. The poor intrinsic conductivity and low capacity of ZIFs were improved by interweaving with polyaniline (PANI). The composite electrode (noted as CFP/ZIF-L/PANI) shows an area capacitance of 730 mF/cm2 at 10 mV/s, higher than that of CFP/ZIF-67/PANI (608 mF/cm2). The CFP/ZIF-L/PANI electrode retained approximately 82.6% of its stabilizing capacitance after 3000 cycles. In a word, this feasible method provides a direct application of pristine MOFs in the preparation of high-performance supercapacitor electrodes.