Controllable morphology of polypyrrole wrapped graphene hydrogel framework composites via cyclic voltammetry with aiding of poly (sodium 4-styrene sulfonate) for the flexible supercapacitor electrode

Abstract

Controllable morphology of polypyrrole wrapped graphene hydrogel composites in nano scale has been successfully developed via in-situ electrochemical co-deposition in an aqueous solution containing pyrrole monomers (Py), graphene hydrogel (GH) and surfactant. The presence of different surfactants (sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (SDBS) or poly (sodium 4-styrenesulfonate) (PSS)) in electrolyte plays an important role in structural, morphological and supercapacitive properties of polypyrrole/graphene hydrogel (PPy/GH) composite films. Scanning electron microscope analysis demonstrated that the unique design of PPy/GH-PSS morphology is not only to control micro/nanostructure of PPy wrapped GH, but also to develop the nanostructure morphology of PPy matrix. A large surface area of GH-PSS with the preserving decent electronic conductivity of PPy/GH-PSS composite expected to support the facile ionic transport is investigated. The results revealed that these features endow PPy/GH-PSS composite film electrode with the excellent electrochemical properties such as the high specific capacitance of 640.8Fg−1 at 1Ag−1 and energy density of 68.2Whkg−1 at a power density of 438.5Wkg−1, suggesting of its extensive potential application for the flexible thin film supercapacitors.