Polypyrrole/iron oxide/reduced graphene oxide ternary composite as a binderless electrode material with high cyclic stability for supercapacitors

Herein, we present a facile two-step synthesis of polypyrrole/Fe2O3/reduced graphene oxide (PFG) ternary composite. It includes the preparation of the binary Fe2O3/reduced graphene oxide (FG) composite under hydrothermal conditions, followed by oxidative polymerization of pyrrole on the FG composite surface. X-ray diffraction measurements revealed the presence of the α-Fe2O3 phase in both composites. The electrochemical measurements performed using the composite electrodes in a 1 M Na2SO4 solution revealed that the binder-free PFG electrode exhibits a high specific capacitance of 140 F g−1 with an excellent capacitance retention of 93% after 5000 cycles at 1 A g−1 which can be attributed to the synergistic effect between polypyrrole and FG composite.