PREPARATION, CHARACTERIZATION AND APPLICATION OF COMPOSITES BASED ON GRAPHENE AND FIBERS

Abstract

Among all natural fibers, cellulose has attracted much attention owing to its fascinating properties and sustainability. On the other hand, graphene is gathering quickly growing interest as the rising star of nanotechnology with its exceptional characteristics. Therefore, cellulose/conductive polymers/graphene composites offer a unique combination of environmental benefits and enhanced performance for energy storage applications, including supercapacitors, which are the most promising energy storage devices. In the present thesis, conductive polyaniline-coated cellulose fibers hybridized with rGO in different ratios were fabricated by adopting aseries of simple operationsincluding; the extraction of both cellulose microfibers (CMF) (with a yield = 52.1% and a crystallinity = 77.8%) from Retama Raetam plant, and cellulose nanowhiskers (CNW) (with a crystallinity = 82.04%) from cotton, the synthesis of rGOby a sonication-assisted oxidation of graphite, then the in situ polymerization of aniline monomer in the presence of CMF or CNW, followed by the hybridization of the as-prepared composites with different ratios of rGO. The as-prepared composites were then characterized and applied as supercapacitor electrodes and their supercapacitive performance was investigated using different electrochemical methods. Thus, appreciable specific capacitance values up to 465.32 F g-1 were achieved.