Electropolymerized polypyrrole/safranin-O films: Capacitance enhancement

Abstract Polypyrrole (PPy) prepared in the presence of organic dyes has been recently studied due to its interesting morphology and electronic properties. This present work describes the facile preparation of electropolymerized PPy/safranin-O film with varying safranin-O concentrations through cyclic voltammetry. Raman spectra of the films confirm the presence of PPy and safranin-O while UV–Vis spectra of the films suggest an interaction between safranin-O and PPy. In the presence of added safranin-O, a cauliflower-like morphological formation on the film's surface is obtained. The areal capacitance of PPy is significantly enhanced by the incorporation of safranin-O with values from 22.89 mF/cm2 to a higher capacitance value of 277.8 mF/cm2 at 10 mV/s scan rate. The PPy/safranin-O films showed better cycling stability over 1000 cycles than a pristine PPy film.