Nickel foam based polypyrrole-Ag composite film: a new route toward stable electrodes for supercapacitors

Polypyrrole (PPy)-Ag composites have been directly deposited on a nickel foam via the redox reaction between pyrrole and silver nitrate. As a catalyst, the nickel foam was able to accelerate the redox reaction and lead to the formation of PPy-Ag composites, which shows a strong adhesive force to the substrate. The electrochemical properties of the PPy-Ag-nickel foam electrode were systematically investigated by using cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge-discharge and cycle stability measurements in 0.5 M K2SO4 electrolyte. The redox performance properties, good charge-discharge stability and high specific capacitance of 493 F g(-1) at a current density of 1 A g(-1) demonstrated the appropriate application of the PPy-Ag-nickel foam electrode for the high energy density supercapacitors.