Electrochemical performance of conducting polymer and its nanocomposites prepared by chemical vapor phase polymerization method

In this work, conducting polymers poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT), PEDOT/carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and PEDOT/reduced graphene oxide (RGO) were prepared via an in situ chemical vapor phase polymerization (VPP) process. Experiment results showed that PEDOT and PEDOT nanocomposites were uniformly constructed in oxidant and oxidant nanocomposite films through a modifying template effect. The VPP PEDOT and its nanocomposites were built on aluminium film as supercapaitor electrode materials and electrochemical capacitive properties were investigated by using cycle voltammetry and charge/discharge techniques. The VPP PEDOT exhibited a specific capacitance of 92 F/g at a current density of 0.2 A/g. The VPP PEDOT composites consisting of CNTs and RGO displayed specific capacitances of 137 and 156 F/g, respectively, at the same current density. For VPP nanocomposites, more than 80 % of initial capacitance was retained after 1,000 charge/discharge cycles, suggesting a good cycling stability for electrochemical electrode materials. The good capacitive performance of the conducting polymer nanocomposites are contributed to the synergic effect of the two components.