Chemical oxidative polymerization and characterization of polypyrrole thin films for supercapacitor application

In present study, we prepared polypyrrole thin films by chemical oxidation polymerization method. The polypyrrole thin films were prepared with three different oxidants namely, ammonium per sulfate (APS), K₂S₂O₈ and Fe(NO₃)₃. The deposited films were characterized by UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, UV-Vis normal reflectance measurements, Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and Cyclic Voltammetry. The chemically synthesized films showed the conducting form of polypyrrole. The supercapacitor study was made with the help of cyclic voltammetry. The polypyrrole electrode displays good electrochemical capacitance within the electrochemical window between -0.2 and 0.8 V (vs. SCE). The maximum value of specific capacitance 113 F/g was obtained for the films deposited using K₂S₂O₈ at the scan rate of 25 mV/sec vs SCE in 0.1 M H₂SO₄ as an electrolyte.