High capacity natural fiber coated conductive and electroactive composite papers electrode for energy storage applications

ABSTRACT Flexible, lightweight, and environment friendly energy storage devices are in high demand of modern disposable technology. This study presents the coating of directly collected lignocelluloses fibers from self‐growing plant, Monochoria vaginalis with conducting layers of polypyrrole and polyaniline. Fabricated paper electrodes were conductive, electroactive, all‐organic constituents, flexible, and can be cut with help of scissor in any shape. Paper electrodes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and thermogravimetric analysis for morphology, structural, and thermal characteristics, respectively. Furthermore, fabricated paper electrodes were characterized by cyclic voltammetry to confirm the electroactive behavior and showed excellent electrochemical performance. Paper sheets comprising lignocelluloses fibers and polypyrrole coating (LC/PPy) were employed as electrodes of symmetric cell and showed specific capacitance of 230.35 Fg−1 at current density 0.25 mA g−1 for LC/PANI, while LC/PPy showed 9.042 W h kg−1 and 91.33 W kg−1 energy density and power density, respectively. This paper electrodes are highly feasible for environmentally safe and flexible energy storage applications, particularly in era of modern disposable technology. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2019, 136, 47282.