Electrochemical and theoretical study on enhanced pseudocapacitance performance of poly orthoaminophenol film in the presence of different derivatives of phenylglycine

We have successfully synthesized three derivative of phenylglycine by Schotten-Baumann method denoted as 2-[(4-methylbenzoyl) amino] phenyl acetic acid (B-Me), 2-(benzoyl amino) phenyl acetic acid (B-H) and 2-[(4-chlorobenzoyl) amino] phenyl acetic acid (B-Cl). Afterward, dealing with improving electrochemical properties of the poly ortho aminophenol (POAP), we fabricated POAP/B-Me, POAP/B-H and POAP/B-Cl films through electro-polymerization of POAP by employing of N-benzoyl derivatives of phenylglycine to consider as the active electrode for SCs. Analysis of electronic wave function (DFT-method) results show that the atomic-scale electronic properties are generally depend on the bonding and electronic molecular structures and electron donating group on the N-benzoyl derivatives has main important effect rather than electron withdrawing group. The electrochemical properties of electrodes and the capacitive behavior of the resulting capacitors were systematically studied using cyclic voltammetry (CV), ac impedance and constant current charge–discharge tests. The specific capacitance of POAP/B-Me electrode was exhibited as high as 614.3 F/g, in comparison with a value of 261 F/g for POAP film. These results make POAP/B-Me it a promising candidate for supercapacitor applications. •Developing a simple and green route for synthesis of composite of POAP•Improving electrochemical properties of the poly ortho aminophenol•Presenting a novel and efficient composite materials for electrochemical redox capacitors