Recent Advancements in Polymer and Graphene-Based Composites for High-Performance Supercapacitor Applications: Progress, Challenges, and Future Perspectives
- 1Division of Physical Sciences, Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences (KITS), Karunya Nagar, Coimbatore 641114, Tamil Nadu, India
- 2School of Chemical Engineering, Yeungnam University, Gyeongsan 38541, Republic of Korea
Abstract
The increasing worldwide need for sustainable and high-performance energy storage systems has accelerated significant interest in the development of advanced electrode materials for supercapacitors (SCs). SCs have attracted considerable attention as advanced energy storage devices because they offer high power output, rapid energy delivery and recharge, excellent rate capability, and outstanding stability over prolonged charge–discharge cycles, making them suitable for diverse energy storage and power-management applications. Nonetheless, the relatively low specific energy of conventional electrode materials remains a major obstacle to their widespread commercialization. In this context, polymers and graphene-derived electrode materials have gained substantial consideration owing to their complementary physicochemical characteristics. Conducting polymers (CPs), which include polyaniline (PANI), poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT), polypyrrole (PPy), and polythiophene (PTh) derivatives, and hypercross-linked polymers (HCPs) offer high pseudocapacitance through reversible redox reactions, whereas graphene and its derivatives provide extraordinary electrical conductivity, higher specific surface area (SSA), outstanding mechanical strength, and excellent chemical durability. The synergistic integration of these materials into polymer/graphene composites has begun as an efficient approach to overcome the intrinsic limitations of individual components and significantly improve electrochemical behavior. This review summarizes recent advances in polymer and graphene-derived composites for high-performance supercapacitor applications, focusing on preparation strategies, structural features, charge-storage mechanisms, and electrochemical properties of conducting polymer/graphene hybrids. The effects of morphology, porosity, surface area, electrical conductivity, mechanical flexibility, and ion transport on device performance are critically discussed. Recent progress in flexible and wearable supercapacitors, along with challenges related to cycling stability, graphene restacking, large-scale production, and device integration, is also highlighted. Furthermore, future perspectives, including multifunctional electrode design, sustainable materials, and artificial intelligence-assisted material development, are presented to provide insights into the design of next-generation supercapacitor electrodes.
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BibTeX
@article{vinodh2026recent,
title = {{Recent Advancements in Polymer and Graphene-Based Composites for High-Performance Supercapacitor Applications: Progress, Challenges, and Future Perspectives}},
author = {Rajangam Vinodh and Raji Atchudan},
journal = {Polymers},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/polym18212624},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/18/21/2624},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Recent Advancements in Polymer and Graphene-Based Composites for High-Performance Supercapacitor Applications: Progress, Challenges, and Future Perspectives
AU - Rajangam Vinodh
AU - Raji Atchudan
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/23
JO - Polymers
DO - 10.3390/polym18212624
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4360/18/21/2624
AB - The increasing worldwide need for sustainable and high-performance energy storage systems has accelerated significant interest in the development of advanced electrode materials for supercapacitors (SCs). SCs have attracted considerable attention as advanced energy storage devices because they offer high power output, rapid energy delivery and recharge, excellent rate capability, and outstanding stability over prolonged charge–discharge cycles, making them suitable for diverse energy storage and power-management applications. Nonetheless, the relatively low specific energy of conventional electrode materials remains a major obstacle to their widespread commercialization. In this context, polymers and graphene-derived electrode materials have gained substantial consideration owing to their complementary physicochemical characteristics. Conducting polymers (CPs), which include polyaniline (PANI), poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT), polypyrrole (PPy), and polythiophene (PTh) derivatives, and hypercross-linked polymers (HCPs) offer high pseudocapacitance through reversible redox reactions, whereas graphene and its derivatives provide extraordinary electrical conductivity, higher specific surface area (SSA), outstanding mechanical strength, and excellent chemical durability. The synergistic integration of these materials into polymer/graphene composites has begun as an efficient approach to overcome the intrinsic limitations of individual components and significantly improve electrochemical behavior. This review summarizes recent advances in polymer and graphene-derived composites for high-performance supercapacitor applications, focusing on preparation strategies, structural features, charge-storage mechanisms, and electrochemical properties of conducting polymer/graphene hybrids. The effects of morphology, porosity, surface area, electrical conductivity, mechanical flexibility, and ion transport on device performance are critically discussed. Recent progress in flexible and wearable supercapacitors, along with challenges related to cycling stability, graphene restacking, large-scale production, and device integration, is also highlighted. Furthermore, future perspectives, including multifunctional electrode design, sustainable materials, and artificial intelligence-assisted material development, are presented to provide insights into the design of next-generation supercapacitor electrodes.
SN - 2073-4360
ER -