Graphene Quantum Dots Enhanced Electrochemical Performance of Polypyrrole as Supercapacitor Electrode

With an objective to develop electrode materials with high specific capacitance and good stability, a completely new nanocomposite of Polypyrrole (PPY) and graphene quantum dots (GQD) was successfully obtained through in-situ polymerization of pyrrole in the presence of GQD suspension. The obtained composites with different mass ratios were characterized by X-ray diffraction(XRD), Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy(FT-IR) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). GQD enhanced electrochemical performance of PPY and, as supercapacitor electrodes, the PPY/GQD composites with the mass ratio of PPY to GQD at 50:1 showed a competitive specific capacitance of 485 F窑g at a scan rate of 0.005 V窑s The attenuation of the specific capacitance is about 2% after 2000 cycles. The high specific capacitance and good stability of the PPY/GQD nanocomposites are promising for applications in electrochemical supercapacitors.