Electrochemical Synthesis of an Organometallic Material Based on Polypyrrole/MnO2 as High-Performance Cathode

We report herein the design of promising composite material as a cathode in a rechargeable battery by combining the properties of polypyrrole (PPy) and MnO2 particles. The composites were prepared by electropolymerization of the pyrrole monomer followed by electrodeposition of a manganese salt suspension by two methods. The first method involved the formation of MnO2 in situ in the PPy/ITO electrode, while the second method involved first a preliminary adsorption of Mn2+ ions in the polymer, followed by an electrochemical of the electrode. The morphology of the resulting composite materials (PPy/MnO2) was studied by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffractometry (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR). The investigations of the electrochemical properties of the composite electrodes show that the presence of MnO2 play an important role in improving the surface of polymer films, which leads to lower charge transfer resistance and higher electrode activity. For the optimal synthesis method, the electrode generates a maximum current of up to − 7.9 mA cm−2 for the oxygen reduction reaction, which is eight times the current density delivered by the electrode without PPy.