Polypyrrole-coated tape electrode for flexible supercapacitor applications

Abstract A non-conductive tape was covered with graphite by the attachment of tape on bulk graphite and subsequently peeled off from the surface. Flexible tape with thin graphite coating was designed as the current collector. Polypyrrole film was synthesized potentiostatically on the flexible tape electrode surface from pyrrole monomer in sulfuric acid medium. Topographical, morphological, compositional and electrochemical properties of polypyrrole films were investigated by AFM, SEM, FTIR and potentiostatic/galvanostatic techniques, respectively. Polypyrrole flexible electrodes, electroplated in acidic medium, were cycled in aqueous and non-aqueous electrolyte environments, specifically, acetonitrile and ionic liquid. The capacitance retention rate of the polypyrrole-based electrode cycled in deep eutectic solvent increased by 11% after 3000 scans. The highest specific capacitance of the electropolymerized polypyrrole-based electrode was 545 F g−1 in aqueous electrolyte, that is, water containing 1 M LiClO4, at scan rate 100 mV s−1. Polypyrrole-based electrodes can be synthesized on flexible tapes as a cheap and easy method for supercapacitor applications.