Preparation of Polypyrrole/Sodium Alginate Nanospheres and Their Application for High-Performance Supercapacitors

Polypyrrole/sodium alginate (PPy/SA) nanospheres are successfully synthesized by oxidative polymerization of pyrrole using sodium alginate as structural templating agent. The morphology and structure of the PPy/SA nanospheres were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. Their electrochemical properties are investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic charge-discharge tests. The PPy/SA nanospheres exhibit a high specific capacitance of 347 F.g(-1) at a charge-discharge current density of 1 A.g(-1) in 1 mol.L-1 KCl electrolyte. Unlike pure PPy, there was little attenuation in the capacitance of the PPy/SA nanospheres over 500 continuous charging-discharging cycles demonstrating good electrochemical stability. This result indicates that PPy/SA nanospheres are a promising candidate for high-performance supercapacitors.