Polypyrrole/Tungsten Carbide Nanocomposites for Electrochemical Applications

Tungsten carbide (WC) was used as an additive to prepare polypyrrole (PPy) composites due to its high electronic conductivity and chemical stability, as well as its high photo- and electrocatalytic activities. Herein, conducting PPy/WC composites were prepared via a single-step approach in the absence or presence of safranin as a morphology guiding agent. The influence of WC content and the addition of safranin on the electrical conductivity, morphology, and electrochemical properties were investigated. PPy composites prepared in the absence of safranin have a globular morphology, while the addition of safranin forms 1D PPy nanostructures. In all cases, WC particles were fully embedded in the PPy matrix as proven with Raman spectroscopy. The composites prepared in the presence of safranin have shown higher conductivity and gravimetric capacitance than those prepared without safranin. The highest electrical conductivities of 19.6 and 38.9 S cm^–1 were obtained for the composites prepared with 90 wt % of the WC content in the absence or presence of safranin, respectively. The highest capacitance of 242 F g^–1 with a retention of 95% after 1000 cycles was achieved in the case of the PPy/WC composite prepared with 5 wt % of WC in the presence of safranin.