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Current sensing supercapacitor electrodes based on chitosan/poly-o-toluidine hydrogel composites

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Abstract

A faradaic supercapacitor electrode capable of sensing current is presented for the first time using chitosan/poly-o-toluidine composites. The semiconducting and highly electroactive composites have an agglomerated nano granular morphology with sufficient porosity enabling efficient electrochemical reaction. A moderately high specific capacitance of 425 F g−1 was achieved for the composite at a scan rate of 5 mV s −1. The sensing abilities monitored through chronopotentiometry show that the consumed electrical energy during reactions varied as a linear function of the applied current which proves that the composites can function as a current sensing supercapacitor. The sensitivity with regard to current increases as the specific capacitance increases. The sensing ability is imparted through the electrochemical reaction of poly-o-toluidine, whose reaction rate (and potential) responds to and senses the electrical working condition (current). This finding suggests that any device based on conducting polymers driven by electrochemical reactions is capable of sensing electrical working conditions.

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Data Availability

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgments

Authors thankfully acknowledge Dr. Mohamed Shahin Thayyil, Department of Physics, University of Calicut, for providing facilities for measuring electrical conductivity. The authors gratefully acknowledge CSIF, University of Calicut, for providing research facilities. Madari Palliyalil Sidheekha and AK Shabeeba gratefully acknowledge UGC, India, for providing research fellowship.

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  1. Department of Chemistry, University of Calicut, Thenhipalam, Kerala, 673635, India

    Madari Palliyalil Sidheekha, Geethu E. Rajendran, A. K. Shabeeba & Yahya A. Ismail

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  1. Madari Palliyalil Sidheekha
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Sidheekha, M.P., Rajendran, G.E., Shabeeba, A.K. et al. Current sensing supercapacitor electrodes based on chitosan/poly-o-toluidine hydrogel composites. Journal of Materials Research 36, 1914–1926 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1557/s43578-021-00241-2

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