Smart and designable graphene–SiO2 nanocomposites with multifunctional applications in silicone elastomers and polyaniline supercapacitors

Abstract

A novel method was developed to promote the multifunctional applications of chemically reduced graphene (rGE) in silicone elastomers (SE) and polyaniline (PANI)-based supercapacitors via the integration of SiO₂. With the help of SiO₂, the surface status of rGE can be designed according to actual needs and the generated rGE–SiO₂ (rGES) showed various microstructures including lamellar, dendritic and sandwich-like shapes. The microstructures of rGES played a decisive role in the final functions of rGES-based polymer nanocomposites, which were better than the rGE-based polymer matrixes. Generally, lamellar rGES retained and stimulated the advantages of rGE, and the rGES-integrated PANI electrode (rGESP) showed better specific capacitance (555 F g⁻¹) and cycling life (91%) than the rGE-integrated PANI electrode (381 F g⁻¹ and 79%). Sandwich-like rGES promoted the mechanical performances of SE, and the values of rGES/SE (rGESSE) are ten times higher than those of rGE/SE, from 0.4 MPa to more than 7 MPa for the tensile strength and from 0.28 MPa to 3.7 MPa for the tensile modulus. Thus, the fabricated rGES is smart and designable, displaying multiple functions and applications.