Effect of polymerization solvent, potential, and temperature on morphology and capacitance properties of poly(thieno[3,2-b]thiophene) films

• Poly(thieno[3,2-b]thiophene) (PTT) shows high capacitive behavior.
• The maximum specific capacitance of PTT can reach 627.5 F g−1 at 15 A g−1.
• The solvent, potential and temperature can affect the capacitive behavior of PTT.

Relative to those polymers based on thiophene, the polymers derived from planar symmetrical thieno[3,2-b]thiophene moieties exhibit highly ordered crystalline, fast charge transport behaviors and good stability. Herein, the effects of the polymerization solvent, potential, and temperature on the structure, morphology, thermal stability and capacitive performance of the electrodeposited poly(thieno[3,2-b]thiophene) (PTT) film were studied by FT-IR, SEM, TG and electrochemical methods, respectively. It was found that the PTT film had a very high specific capacitance (627.5 F g−1 at 15 A g−1) in acetonitrile/0.1 M LiClO4, even at high current density of 100 A g−1, its specific capacitance still reached 531 F g−1. Additionally, the morphology and capacitance performance of PTT film were greatly affected by the polymerization solvent, potential, and temperature parameters. Therefore, it is believed that PTT can be a meaningful capacitive material if only the preparation condition is well optimized.