Synthesis of Polypyrrole/Reduced Graphene Oxide Hybrids via Hydrothermal Treatment for Energy Storage Applications

Herein, we propose hydrothermal treatment as a facile and environmentally friendly approach for the synthesis of polypyrrole/reduced graphene oxide hybrids. A series of self-assembled hybrid materials with different component mass ratios of conductive polymer to graphene oxide was prepared. The morphology, porous structure, chemical composition and electrochemical performance of the synthesized hybrids as electrode materials for supercapacitors were investigated. Nitrogen sorption analysis at 77 K revealed significant changes in the textural development of the synthesized materials, presenting specific surface areas ranging from 25 to 199 m2 g−1. The combination of the pseudocapacitive polypyrrole and robust graphene material resulted in hybrids with excellent electrochemical properties, which achieved specific capacitances as high as 198 F g−1 at a current density of 20 A g−1 and retained up to 92% of their initial capacitance after 3000 charge–discharge cycles. We found that a suitable morphology and chemical composition are key factors that determine the electrochemical properties of polypyrrole/reduced graphene oxide hybrid materials.