Dielectric Energy Storage Performance of Reductive Polyaniline/Polyethylenimine All-Organic Composite Films with Tunable Molecular Weight and Chain Structure

High-efficiency energy storage technologies have become particularly crucial with the ever-increasing demand for energy in recent years. Research on polymer nanocomposite dielectric materials has emerged as a prominent focus. Particularly, there is an urgent demand for the development of advanced dielectric film materials that exhibit superior energy storage performance over a wide temperature range. To this end, this study aims to investigate the effect of the molecular weight of reduced polyaniline (R-PANI) on the dielectric properties of all-organic composite films based on high-temperature-resistant polyetherimide (PEI). All-organic R-PANI/PEI composite films were fabricated by blending PEI matrix with R-PANI of varying molecular weights. Through combined density functional theory (DFT) calculations and experimental measurements, the blocking mechanism of R-PANI on charge carrier migration within the composite films was elucidated, showing a significant enhancement in the discharge energy density of PEI polymers while maintaining high charge–discharge efficiency. With charge–discharge efficiency maintained above 95%, R-PANI3/PEI achieved a discharge energy density of 2.36 J cm−3 at room temperature, nearly double that of pristine PEI (1.2 J cm−3). At 150 °C, the 1.0 wt% R-PANI3/PEI composite film retained a discharge energy density of 2.27 J cm−3 with a charge–discharge efficiency of 89.2%, outperforming pure PEI (1.1 J cm−3, 85.1%). These findings provide a new strategy for the design of all-organic composite dielectric films and demonstrate the potential of R-PANI in the application of high-performance capacitors and electrical energy storage.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Polymers
Published
2026-04-29
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/polym18091080
Primary Topic
Dielectric materials and actuators
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Dielectric Energy Storage Performance of Reductive Polyaniline/Polyethylenimine All-Organic Composite Films with Tunable Molecular Weight and Chain Structure

Jingyu Lin, Ruihang Zhang, Xinyan Zhang, Qixin Zhuang et al.
Polymers
Dielectric materials and actuators
article

Dielectric Energy Storage Performance of Reductive Polyaniline/Polyethylenimine All-Organic Composite Films with Tunable Molecular Weight and Chain Structure

Jingyu Lin, Ruihang Zhang, Xinyan Zhang, Qixin Zhuang, Yuanfeng Li, Peiyuan Zuo, Shumu Zhou
article en

Abstract

High-efficiency energy storage technologies have become particularly crucial with the ever-increasing demand for energy in recent years. Research on polymer nanocomposite dielectric materials has emerged as a prominent focus. Particularly, there is an urgent demand for the development of advanced dielectric film materials that exhibit superior energy storage performance over a wide temperature range. To this end, this study aims to investigate the effect of the molecular weight of reduced polyaniline (R-PANI) on the dielectric properties of all-organic composite films based on high-temperature-resistant polyetherimide (PEI). All-organic R-PANI/PEI composite films were fabricated by blending PEI matrix with R-PANI of varying molecular weights. Through combined density functional theory (DFT) calculations and experimental measurements, the blocking mechanism of R-PANI on charge carrier migration within the composite films was elucidated, showing a significant enhancement in the discharge energy density of PEI polymers while maintaining high charge–discharge efficiency. With charge–discharge efficiency maintained above 95%, R-PANI3/PEI achieved a discharge energy density of 2.36 J cm−3 at room temperature, nearly double that of pristine PEI (1.2 J cm−3). At 150 °C, the 1.0 wt% R-PANI3/PEI composite film retained a discharge energy density of 2.27 J cm−3 with a charge–discharge efficiency of 89.2%, outperforming pure PEI (1.1 J cm−3, 85.1%). These findings provide a new strategy for the design of all-organic composite dielectric films and demonstrate the potential of R-PANI in the application of high-performance capacitors and electrical energy storage.

PolymersVol. 18(9)
East China University of Science and Technology (CN)
Shanghai Science and Technology Development Foundation, National Natural Science Foundation of China
Affordable and clean energy
Openalex Percentile: Top 11%
Dielectric materials and actuators
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.