Composites of electrochemically reduced graphene oxide and polythiophene and their application in supercapacitors

Abstract

Composite films consisting of polythiophene (PTh) and graphene oxide (GO) were synthetized by electrochemical polymerization. Consequently, the GO was reduced via cyclic voltammetry to form a reduced composite (PTh/rGO), which presented higher conductivity than PTh. Specific capacitance values were calculated from galvanostatic charge-discharge profiles. At a current density of 0.5 A.g(-1), the specific capacitance of PTh/rGO presented a good value (318 A.g(-1)). However, its behavior was distant from a typical supercapacitor, indicative of a low reversibility during the charge-discharge processes and poor capability as supercapacitor material. Moreover, its stability diminished considerably after repetitive cycling. Experimental conditions of synthesis of PTh/rGO require to be optimized for the application of the composite as electrode material in supercapacitors.