Article Title

Carbon nanotube-polypyrrole core-shell sponge and its application as highly compressible supercapacitor electrode

Authors

Peixu Li, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Enzheng Shi, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Yanbing Yang, Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Biology and Medicine (Ministry of Education), College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
Yuanyuan Shang, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Qingyu Peng, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Shiting Wu, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Jinquan Wei, Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials Processing Technology and School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Kunlin Wang, Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials Processing Technology and School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Hongwei Zhu, Key Laboratory for Advanced Materials Processing Technology and School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Quan Yuan, Key Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry for Biology and Medicine (Ministry of Education), College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
Anyuan Cao, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, College of Engineering, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China
Dehai Wu, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China

Keywords

carbon nanotube sponge, polypyrrole, core–shell configuration, compressible electrode, supercapacitor

Abstract

A carbon nanotube (CNT) sponge contains a three-dimensional conductive nanotube network, and can be used as a porous electrode for various energy devices. We present here a rational strategy to fabricate a unique CNT@polypyrrole (PPy) core–shell sponge, and demonstrate its application as a highly compressible supercapacitor electrode with high performance. A PPy layer with optimal thickness was coated uniformly on individual CNTs and inter-CNT contact points by electrochemical deposition and crosslinking of pyrrole monomers, resulting in a core–shell configuration. The PPy coating significantly improves specific capacitance of the CNT sponge to above 300 F/g, and simultaneously reinforces the porous structure to achieve better strength and fully elastic structural recovery after compression. The CNT@PPy sponge can sustain 1,000 compression cycles at a strain of 50% while maintaining a stable capacitance (> 90% of initial value). Our CNT@PPy core–shell sponges with a highly porous network structure may serve as compressible, robust electrodes for supercapacitors and many other energy devices.

Graphical Abstract

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-013-0388-5

Publisher

Tsinghua University Press

Recommended Citation

Peixu Li,Enzheng Shi,Yanbing Yang,Yuanyuan Shang,Qingyu Peng,Shiting Wu,Jinquan Wei,Kunlin Wang,Hongwei Zhu,Quan Yuan,Anyuan Cao,Dehai Wu, Carbon nanotube-polypyrrole core-shell sponge and its application as highly compressible supercapacitor electrode. NanoRes.2014, 7(2): 209–218