• Korean Chemical Engineering Research
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• v.56 no.6
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• pp.884-889
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• 2018

In this study, polyaniline $(PANI)/WO_3$ electrode was prepared as an anode of a lithium ion capacitor, and its electrochemical characteristics were measured and analyzed. When PANI was electrochemically deposited on the surface of $WO_3$ electrode, the capacity of $PANI/WO_3$ was improved with increase of the deposited amounts of PANI. Furthermore, the effect of light irradiation on capacity and coulombic efficiency was examined by irradiating sunlight during charging and discharging. When the light was irradiated to the $WO_3$ electrode and the $PANI/WO_3$ electrode, those capacities and coulombic efficiencies were increased compared to that measured under the dark condition. It is attributed to the photocatalytic property of $WO_3$ that can generate photoelectrons by light irradiation. In $PANI/WO_3$ electrode, PANI also can be excited under the light irradiation with affecting the electrochemical property of electrode. The photoelectrons improve the capacity by participating in the intercalation of $Li^+$ ions, and also improve the coulombic efficiency by facilitating electrons' transport. Under the dark condition, the capacity of $PANI/WO_3$ was gradually reduced with increase of cycles due to a poor stability of PANI. However, the stability of PANI was significantly improved by the light irradiation, which is attributed to the oxidation-reduction reaction originated from the photogenerated electrons and holes in $PANI/WO_3$.