Preparation of carboxylated carbon nanotubes/polypyrrole composite hollow microspheres via chemical oxidative interfacial polymerization and their electrochemical performance

•Carbon nanotubes/polypyrrole composite hollow microspheres were fabricated.•Carboxylated carbon nanotubes were added in the interfacial polymerization.•CNTs improved their morphological, thermal, and electrical conductive properties.•The cycling stability as electrode materials had been evidently improved.

Well-defined carboxylated carbon nanotubes/polypyrrole composite (CNTs/PPy) hollow microspheres were fabricated via chemical oxidative interfacial polymerization of pyrrole in the presence of the carboxylated carbon nanotubes (CNT-COOH) for the first time. The near uniform particle size of 1.4 μm was proved by the TEM analysis. All the CNT-COOH added in the polymerizing system had been incorporated into the polypyrrole (PPy) shells. Compared with the PPy hollow microspheres synthesized under the similar condition only without the CNT-COOH, the CNTs/PPy hollow microspheres exhibited slightly higher electrical conductivity and specific capacitance as electrode materials for supercapacitors, while their cycling stability had been evidently improved by introducing the CNT-COOH.

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