AUTHOR=Zenasni Mounya , Belhadj Hafida , Kiari Mohamed , Alelyani Magbool , Alhailiy Ali B. , Benyoucef Abdelghani , Bakkour Youssef 

TITLE=Synthesis, characterization, and enhanced electrochemical behavior of polypyrrole doped ZrO2–ZnO electrode materials for supercapacitor applications

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Energy Research

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/energy-research/articles/10.3389/fenrg.2023.1244699

DOI=10.3389/fenrg.2023.1244699

ISSN=2296-598X

ABSTRACT=<p>The polypyrrole@ZrO<sub>2</sub>–ZnO (PPy@ZrO<sub>2</sub>–ZnO) electrodes were synthesized using an <italic>in situ</italic> chemical oxidative method. The samples were characterized by XRD, FTIR, XPS, UV-vis, TGA, and BET. In addition, the electrochemical characteristics of the electrodes are tested by cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge and discharge (G.C.D.), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (E.I.S.). The values of the specific capacitances and the energy densities of PPy@ZrO<sub>2</sub>–ZnO (1.0) and PPy@ZrO<sub>2</sub>–ZnO (0.5) at a current density of 0.5 A g<sup>−1</sup> are recorded as (395.3 F g<sup>−1</sup> and 508.5 Wh·kg<sup>−1</sup>) and (195.3 F g<sup>−1</sup> and 351.5 Wh·kg<sup>−1</sup>), respectively. Furthermore, the electrode stability for the formed samples was also determined, which exhibited specific capacitance retention at 90.2% for PPy@ZrO<sub>2</sub>–ZnO (1.0) and 82.4% for PPy@ZrO<sub>2</sub>–ZnO (0.5) after cycling up to 4,000 cycles. This work provides an efficient approach to the potential of the synthesized samples for application as electrodes in a supercapacitor.</p>