Tuning electrical properties of polythiophene/nickel nanocomposites via fabrication

Abstract

Polythiophene/nickel nanocomposites were synthesized by the electrochemical oxidative polymerization of thiophene in the presence of nickel nanoparticles. The nanocomposites were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis, atomic force microscopy and Raman spectroscopy. It was found that both PTh and PTh/Ni nanocomposites show granular structures with grains that agglomerate. The increasing of the Ni content results in a decreasing in size and an increasing in density of insular PTh/Ni agglomerations. All composite samples present smaller grains and agglomerations as compared to pure PTh. As the Ni content increases both Ra and RMS are slightly increasing. Surface area was also estimated and the results showed a slightly increase of active surface area. Their electrochemical properties were further evaluated utilizing cyclic voltammetry. As-grown nanocomposites of PTh/nickel with the highest content of nickel exhibited enhanced electrochemical activity, the highest specific capacitance of 3000 F g−1 and the fastest discharging process of 200 s.