Investigations on Polypyrrole/Prussian Blue/Ruthenium Dioxide Based Ternary Nanocomposite as an Electrode Material for Supercapacitors

The successful synthesis of ternary PPy/PB/RuO 2 nanocomposite through oxidative polymerization assisted chemical method and its fabrication as an active electrode material for supercapacitors is reported. The FT-IR and XRD studies revealed the molecular structure and the phase composition of the as-prepared nanomaterials; wherein the average crystallite size of PPy/PB/RuO 2 was found to be 10 nm. The uniformly distributed porous structure observed in the micrograph of PPy/PB/RuO 2 showed the effective interconnection of well-dispersed nanoparticles. TGA revealed the high thermal stability of PPy/PB/RuO 2 due to the packing arrangement of RuO 2 . The electrochemical activity of PPy/PB/RuO 2 electrode was explored in alkaline (1 M KOH), acidic (1 M H 2 SO 4 ) and neutral (1 M Na 2 SO 4 ) media using three-electrode configuration mode. Due to the enhanced specific capacitance (625.13 Fg −1 ) of PPy/PB/RuO 2 in Na 2 SO 4 electrolyte, CV studies of PPy, PB and RuO 2 electrodes were also carried out in Na 2 SO 4 aqueous media to understand the charge storage mechanism in individual components. From GCD, the ternary electrode exhibited longest charge/discharge time with high specific capacitance value (504.90 Fg −1 ) at 5 Ag −1 . The low charge transfer resistance and 92% of its capacitive retention after 5000 cycles indicated that PPy/PB/RuO 2 could be a reliable candidate for supercapacitive electrode material.