In the field of advanced energy storage, nanostructured Polyaniline (PANI) based materials hold a special place. Extensive studies have been done on the application of PANI in supercapacitors, however, the structure-property relationship of these materials is still not understood. This paper presents a detailed characterization of the novel sodium phytate doped 3D PANI nanofibers anchored on different types of carbon paper for application in supercapacitors. An excellent relationship between the structures and properties of the synthesized samples was found. Remarkable energy storage characteristics with low values of solution, charge transfer and polarization resistance and a specific capacitance of 1106.9 ± 1.5 F g-1 and 779 ± 2.6 F g-1 at current density 0.5 and 10 Ag-1, respectively, was achieved at optimized conditions. The symmetric supercapacitor assembly showed significant enhancement in both energy density and power density. It delivered an energy density of 95 Wh kg-1 at a power of 846 W kg-1. At a high-power density of 16.9 kW kg-1, the energy density can still be kept at 13 Wh kg-1. Cyclic stability was also checked for 1000 cycles at a current density of 10 Ag-1 having excellent retention, i.e., 96%.
Keywords: activated carbon paper; nanofibers; polyaniline; sodium phytate; supercapacitors.