Preparation and Electrochemical Capacitance Properties of Graphene Oxide/Polypyrrole Intercalation Composite

Abstract

Graphene oxide/polypyrrole (GO/PPy) intercalation composite was successfully prepared via in-situ chemical oxidative polymerization of pyrrole monomers by using methyl orange (MO) as a template agent. The morphology and microstructure of the composite were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). In addition, the electrochemical properties of the composite material were investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge/discharge and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy techniques in two different aqueous electrolytes (1 mol·L-1 Na2SO4 and 1 mol·L-1 H2SO4 ). The results indicated that the GO/PPy intercalation composite displayed considerable specific capacitance in both neutral and acid electrolytes, which is attributed to taking full advantage of the superior properties and synergy of graphene oxide and polypyrrole. The GO/PPy intercalation composite exhibited the specific capacitance of 449.1 and 619.0 F·g-1 in the Na2SO4 and H2SO4 electrolytes, respectively, at a current density of 0.5 A·g-1 . This is significantly higher than the corresponding specific capacitance of pure PPy. After 800 cycling test, the specific capacitance of the composite remained about 92% and 62% of the initial capacitance in the two different electrolytes, respectively. A higher initial capacitance was obtained in the acidic electrolyte, but the composite showed better electrochemical cyclic stability in the neutral electrolyte.