Enhanced electrochemical performance of ZnO nanorod core/polypyrrole shell arrays by graphene oxide

•ZnO/Polypyrrole nanorod core/shell arrays were synthesized by electrochemical deposition.•Improved capacitance can be obtained by controlling the ZnO/PPy interface.•Hybridization with graphene oxide results in higher retention ratio and stored charge at inner surface.

Facile synthesis of ZnO nanorod core and polypyrrole shell arrays by electrochemical constant current deposition mode is reported. The effects of electrosynthesis parameters for polypyrrole (PPy) shell and its hybridization with graphene oxide (GO) on the structure, morphology and electrochemical properties of the core-shell arrays were analyzed. The results indicated a synergetic effect towards improving the electrochemical properties by tailoring the interfacial surface in ZnO/PPy core-shell arrays. High retention ratio (66 %) and an increase in voltammetric charge stored at inner surface (80 %) were exhibited by the ZnO/PPy-GO core/hybrid shell arrays with respect to ZnO/PPy ones.

Graphical abstractTailoring the interfacial surface in ZnO/PPy nanorod core-shell arrays by addition of graphene oxide resulted in synergetic effect towards improving the inner stored voltammetric charge.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide