Structural and chemical dependence of electrochemical properties of poly (methyl methacrylate) nanoparticles towards the high powered supercapacitor applications

Poly methyl methacrylate (PMMA) nanoparticles have been prepared by one-step route from methyl methacrylate, benzoyl peroxide in a freshly prepared nitrogen environment at lower pressure, and followed by activating with Tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) and titanium (IV) isopropoxide (Ti–iP). The average size of the PMMA NPs estimated to be 60 nm through the transmission electron microscopy. The performances of the supercapacitors based on activated PMMA as working electrode material in aqueous KOH electrolytes is studied by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic discharge and cyclic life. The activated PMMA supercapacitor in 0.4 M KOH has maximum specific capacitance of 225 F g −1 at the scan rate of 10 mVs −1 within potential window −1-+ 1 V. It delivers an energy density and power density values of 6.85 mWhkg −1 and 900 Wkg −1 , respectively based on the total weight of the working electrode material. The supercapacitor also exhibits a good cycling performance and keeps 84% of initial capacity over 1000 cycles in 0.4 M KOH. The correlation between structural, chemical, and electrochemical properties of PMMA NPs with respect to the current density is also discussed. The PMMA film electrode's obtained regularity ratio values were 0.95, 0.64, and 0.41 at different current densities of 0.1 A g −1 , 0.5 A g −1 , and 1 A g −1 . Additionally, it was found that the zeta potential values were 40 V, 10 V, and 20 V, respectively.