Synthesis and Electrochemical Performance of Polypyrrole-Hierarchical Porous Carbons Nanocomposites

Hierarchical porous carbons(HPCs) were fabricated using hollow mesoporous silica spheres as hard templates and phenolic resin ethanol solution as carbon source. Polypyrrole-hierarchical porous carbons (PPy-HPCs) composites were successfully synthesized by in situ chemical oxidative polymerization method with p-TSA as the dopant and FeCl3 as the oxidant. The morphology, structure and electrochemical performance of PPy-HPCs nanocomposites were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectra, galvanostatic charge-discharge, cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements. Results showed that PPy were deposited on the surface of HPCs. A maximum specific capacitance of 316 F/g was obtained at a current density of 0.1 A/g and the specific capacitance retained 95.8% after 1 000 charge-discharge cycles at a current density of 1 A/g when the PPy mass content was 34.9%. The electrochemical performance of HPCs electrode can be effectively improved by introduction of PPy.