Electrochemical properties of polythiophene/iron dust composites synthesized using chemical oxidative polymerization

The supercapacitive properties of the polythiophene (PTh) and its composites with iron dust synthesized by chemical oxidative polymerization are investigated. The UV-Vis, FTIR, TGA, XRD, SEM, and EDX were used to characterize the composites. Iron (Fe) dust is inserted into PTh matrix as confirmed by FTIR, UV-Vis, EDX, and XRD analysis. The TGA shows that composites have higher thermal stability than pure PTh. The SEM reveals highly porous and packed morphology of the composites as compared to pure PTh. Cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD), and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) show that a 1:1 ratio by mass of PTh and Fe composite displayed greater specific capacitance than pure PTh. The high specific capacitance of the composite material (428.46 F/g at 1 A/g) suggested that the material is suitable for supercapacitor electrode. Cyclic stability is also tested for 1000 cycles at a current density of 1 A/g with excellent retention of 88.89%.