Synthesis, Characterization and Evaluation of Supercapacitive Response of Dodecylbenzenesulphonic Acid (DBSA) Doped Polypyrrole/Zirconium Dioxide Composites

An in-situ chemical oxidative method was used to effectively synthesize a promising supercapacitor material based on PPy/ZrO₂ composites. The synthesized materials were characterized by different analytical techniques, such as UV/visible (UV/Vis) spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The inclusion of ZrO₂ into the PPy matrix was verified by vibrational spectra and structural analyses. The (TGA) results showed that incorporating ZrO₂ into the polymeric matrix improved its thermal stability. In addition, the electrochemical properties of the synthesizedmaterials were investigated byusing cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic charge/discharge (GCD). The PPy/ZrO₂ composite demonstrated excellent super capacitive performance, and high specific capacity of 337.83 F/g, with an exceedingly high energy density of 187.68 Wh/kg at a power density of 1000 W/kg. The composite materials maintain good stability after 1000 charge and discharge cycles, with 85% capacitance retention. The PPy/ZrO₂ possesses a high capacitance, an attractive micro-morphology, and a simple synthesis method. The findings indicate that the PPy/ZrO₂ composite could be a promising electrode material for high-performance supercapacitor applications.