Polypyrrole-Coated Thermally Activated Carbon Cloth for High-Performing Solid-State Supercapacitors

Abstract

Conducting polypyrrole (PPy) synthesized through oxidative chemical vapor deposition (oCVD) on thermally activated carbon cloth was utilized in producing a PPy-based electrode for high-performing supercapacitors. The PPy deposition time was varied at 30, 60, and 90 min, creating CPPy30, CPPy60, and CPPy90 active materials, and their electrochemical properties were studied. CPPy90 has the highest capacitance at 299.5 mF cm–2(1497.7 mF cm–3) with its Raman spectra showing a high doping degree, which contributed to its good capacitive behavior. Symmetric (CPPy90//CPPy90) and asymmetric (AC//CPPy90) supercapacitors were fabricated as prototypes. CPPy90//CPPy90 exhibited a maximum capacitance of 46.0 mF cm–2(115.0 mF cm–3) with an energy density of 4.1 mWh cm–2(1.0 mWh cm–3) at a power density of 80 mW cm–2(20 mW cm–3). The electrochemical capacitance of AC//CPPy90 was 168.2 mF cm–2(560.6 mF cm–3) with an energy density of 15.0 mWh cm–2(5.0 mWh cm–3) at 80 mW cm–2(26.7 mW cm–3) power density. AC//CPPy90 has shown better energy storage performance than CPPy90//CPPy90. Therefore, in this study, the low impedance and high capacitance of oCVD-prepared CPPy90 have promoted the development of symmetric and asymmetric PPy-based supercapacitors with good electrochemical performance.