Linear two-dimensional materials have recently attracted an intense interest for supercapacitors because of their potential uses as electrodes in next-generation wearable electronics. However, enhancing the electrochemical properties of these materials without complicated structural modifications remains a challenge. Herein, we present the preparation of a hybrid electrode system via polydiacetylene (PDA) cloaking on the surface of aligned multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) through self-assembly based in situ photopolymerization. This strategy eliminates the need for initiators and binders that hinder electrochemical performance in conventional conducting polymer based composite electrodes. As noncovalent PDA cloaking did not alter the chemical structure of MWCNTs, high inherent conductivity from sp2 hybridized carbon was preserved. The resulting hybrid microfiber (MWCNT@PDA) exhibited a significant increase in specific capacitance (1111 F g-1) when compared to bare MWCNTs (500 F g-1) and PDA (666.7 F g-1) in a voltage window of 0-1.2 V at a current density of 3 A g-1 in 0.5 M K2SO4 electrolyte. The specific capacitance was retained (ca. 95%) after 7000 charge/discharge cycles. The present results suggest that aligned MWCNTs cloaked with conjugated polymers could meet the demands for future flexible electronics.
Keywords: carbon nanotube; energy; photopolymerization; polydiacetylene; supercapacitor.