Effect of conducting polymer-decorated Ppy@rGO hybrid electrodes with high specific capacitance and long-term stability for energy storage devices

In this work, we synthesized hybrid nanocomposite comprising of polypyrrole (Ppy) and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) by using in situ polymerization and hydrothermal technique for supercapacitor application. The prepared electrode materials have been characterized by various analytical tools to assess their phase confirmation, morphology, porous structure, surface area and chemical composition. Powder XRD analysis revealed the presence of both rGO and Ppy phase in hybrid composite. UV–vis analysis demonstrates that heterojunction development decreases the band gap of bare materials from 2.21 to 1.65 eV. SEM and TEM analysis shows the layered and bending morphological formation of hybrid electrode. The textural analysis demonstrated that Ppy, rGO, Ppy/rGO show a BET surface area of 45.2, 59.4, 95.2 m² g⁻¹, respectively. The designed hybrid composite material was successfully utilized as an electrode material in a supercapacitor, and the resulting device achieved notable performance metrics a power density, energy density and specific capacitance of 400.85 W kg⁻¹, 72.23 Wh kg⁻¹ and 675 F g⁻¹ , respectively. In comparison with pristine rGO and Ppy terminals, the enhanced efficiency of the Ppy@rGO hybrid electrodes towards supercapacitor application is raised as results of interaction between pristine materials. The addition of Ppy creates porous structures and improves conductivity across the rGO sheets, resulting in enhanced electrochemical performance. Furthermore, Ppy@rGO hybrid electrode retains approximately 85% of the primary capacitance value upon completion of 1000 runs. The present work significantly advances Ppy@rGO hybrid composites for use as electrode materials in supercapacitor devices.

Graphical abstract