Facile Synthesis of Polypyrrole/MnO2/Carbon Cloth Composites for Supercapacitor Electrodes

Abstract

In the development of flexible smart electronics, fabricating electrodes with optimized architectures to achieve superior electrochemical performance remains a significant challenge. This study presents a two-step synthesis and characterization of a polypyrrole (PPy)-MnO2/carbon cloth (CC) nanocomposite. The MnO2/CC substrate was first prepared via the hydrothermal method, followed by uniform PPy coating through vapor-phase polymerization in the presence of an oxidizing agent. Electrochemical measurements revealed substantial enhancement in performance, with the specific capacitance increasing from 123.1 mF/cm2 for the MnO2/CC composite to 324.5 mF/cm2 for the PPy/MnO2/CC composite at a current density of 2.5 mA/cm2. This remarkable improvement can be attributed to the synergistic effects between the conductive PPy polymer and MnO2/CC substrate and the formation of additional ion transport channels facilitated by the PPy coating. This work provides valuable insights for designing high-performance electrode materials and advances the development of composite-based energy storage devices.