Preparation of graphene oxide/polypyrrole/multi-walled carbon nanotube composite and its application in supercapacitors

•A novel method for synthesizing graphene oxide/polypyrrole/multi-walled nanotube composites.•Investigation of the effects of the mass ratio of GO, CM and Py on the capacitance of prepared composites.•Excellent electrochemical performance of PCMG composites.

We report a novel method for preparing graphene oxide/polypyrrole/multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) composites (PCMG). The MWCNTs are treated by sulfuric acid, nitric acid and thionyl chloride, and then composite with graphene oxide and PPy by in suit polymerization. Transition electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) results show that in 3-D structure of PCMG composites, PPy chains act as the “bridge” between graphene oxide and chlorinated-MWCNTs. Electrochemical tests reveal that the PCMG1-1 composite has high capacitance of 406.7 F g−1 at current density of 0.5 A g−1, and the capacitance retention of PCMG1-1 composite is 92% after 1000 cycles.