Composition-Dependent Electrochemical Performance of Anatase TiO2/Polyaniline–Polythiophene Hybrid Electrodes for Supercapacitor Applications
5 affiliations
- 1Institute of Chemical Science, University of Peshawar, Peshawar 25120, Pakistan
- 2Innovation Center of Yangtze River Delta, Zhejiang University, Jiaxing 314100, China
- 3Institution of Analytical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
- 4Department of Chemistry, University of Bari Aldo Moro, Via Edoardo Orabona 4, 70125 Bari, Italy
- 5Centre for Optical and Electromagnetic Research, National Engineering Research Center for Optical Instruments, College of Optical Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Abstract
Conducting polymer-based hybrid materials have attracted considerable attention for electrochemical energy storage applications; however, their practical performance remains limited by poor structural stability, sluggish charge transport, and degradation during repeated redox cycling. Herein, a TiO2-integrated polyaniline/polythiophene (PANI/PTh) nanohybrid was designed through an inverse emulsion polymerization strategy to construct a synergistic polymer-metal oxide interface for enhanced electrochemical performance. The successful formation of the copolymer (CoP)/TiO2 hybrid was confirmed through spectroscopic, structural, and morphological analyses, including Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The incorporation of anatase TiO2 nanoparticles into the conducting polymer framework promoted interfacial charge transfer, improved electrolyte accessibility, and enhanced the reversible redox activity of the polymer matrix. Electrochemical investigations using cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) demonstrated the superior capacitive behavior of the optimized CoP/TiO2 composite compared with individual polymer and TiO2 components. The optimized electrode delivered a specific capacitance of 433 F g−1 from CV measurements and 414 F g−1 from GCD analysis at 0.75 A g−1, together with an energy density of 9.4 Wh kg−1 and a power density of 175 W kg−1. Cycling stability measurements revealed that the optimized CoP/TiO2-5 electrode retained approximately 61% of its initial capacitance after 1000 consecutive cycles, indicating appreciable capacitance degradation during repeated electrochemical cycling. Although the hybrid exhibited enhanced initial charge-storage performance, further improvements in cycling stability are required for long-term supercapacitor applications. The incorporation of anatase TiO2 into the conducting polymer matrix resulted in composition-dependent structural and electrochemical characteristics, with the optimized CoP/TiO2 formulation exhibiting enhanced charge-storage performance relative to the investigated reference materials.
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BibTeX
@article{shaheen2026compositiondependent,
title = {{Composition-Dependent Electrochemical Performance of Anatase TiO2/Polyaniline–Polythiophene Hybrid Electrodes for Supercapacitor Applications}},
author = {Suria Shaheen and Mansoor Ahmad and Khalid Talha and Alamgir Alamgir},
journal = {Nanomaterials},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.3390/nano16211442},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/16/21/1442},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Composition-Dependent Electrochemical Performance of Anatase TiO2/Polyaniline–Polythiophene Hybrid Electrodes for Supercapacitor Applications
AU - Suria Shaheen
AU - Mansoor Ahmad
AU - Khalid Talha
AU - Alamgir Alamgir
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/07
JO - Nanomaterials
DO - 10.3390/nano16211442
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/16/21/1442
AB - Conducting polymer-based hybrid materials have attracted considerable attention for electrochemical energy storage applications; however, their practical performance remains limited by poor structural stability, sluggish charge transport, and degradation during repeated redox cycling. Herein, a TiO2-integrated polyaniline/polythiophene (PANI/PTh) nanohybrid was designed through an inverse emulsion polymerization strategy to construct a synergistic polymer-metal oxide interface for enhanced electrochemical performance. The successful formation of the copolymer (CoP)/TiO2 hybrid was confirmed through spectroscopic, structural, and morphological analyses, including Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The incorporation of anatase TiO2 nanoparticles into the conducting polymer framework promoted interfacial charge transfer, improved electrolyte accessibility, and enhanced the reversible redox activity of the polymer matrix. Electrochemical investigations using cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) demonstrated the superior capacitive behavior of the optimized CoP/TiO2 composite compared with individual polymer and TiO2 components. The optimized electrode delivered a specific capacitance of 433 F g−1 from CV measurements and 414 F g−1 from GCD analysis at 0.75 A g−1, together with an energy density of 9.4 Wh kg−1 and a power density of 175 W kg−1. Cycling stability measurements revealed that the optimized CoP/TiO2-5 electrode retained approximately 61% of its initial capacitance after 1000 consecutive cycles, indicating appreciable capacitance degradation during repeated electrochemical cycling. Although the hybrid exhibited enhanced initial charge-storage performance, further improvements in cycling stability are required for long-term supercapacitor applications. The incorporation of anatase TiO2 into the conducting polymer matrix resulted in composition-dependent structural and electrochemical characteristics, with the optimized CoP/TiO2 formulation exhibiting enhanced charge-storage performance relative to the investigated reference materials.
SN - 2079-4991
ER -