Design and functional performance of polyaniline-carbon nanocomposites: synthesis, properties, and emerging applications

Abstract

Polyaniline remains one of the most extensively investigated conducting polymers. It is characterized by low fabrication costs, easy synthesis process and tunable conductivity. Nonetheless, pristine polymer exhibits a number of deficiencies limiting its further commercialization due to its low mechanical flexibility, conductivity reduction in neutral and alkaline solutions, and degradation during electrochemical cycling. Among many approaches proposed for overcoming these problems, the formation of composite materials with various carbon nanomaterials appears promising. Recent studies have demonstrated that PANI-carbon nanocomposites exhibit significantly enhanced electrochemical, mechanical, and optical properties compared to pristine PANI, with remarkable improvements in specific capacitance, cycling stability, switching speed, and adsorption capacity across diverse applications. For instance, PANI-carbon composites achieve exceptional capacitance (696.75 F g -1 vs. 274.75 for pure PANI) with 93.57% retention over 3,500 cycles vs. 72.3% after 2500 charge/discharge cycles for pure PANI, enhanced electrochromic contrast (0.52 vs. 0.38 for pure PANI), high CO 2 capture and superior pollutant adsorption with rapid kinetics. Despite extensive research, critical gaps remain: limited systematic comparison of synthesis methods, unclear structure-property correlations and narrow application focus. Additionally, some current limitations that need further addressing will be outlined. In this review paper, PANI/carbon nanomaterial composites are critically analyzed. Specifically, the major synthesis techniques applied for these compounds and the resulting structures, electrochemical properties, and applications of such composites will be described.