Electroconductive performance of polypyrrole/reduced graphene oxide/carbon nanotube composites synthesized via in situ oxidative polymerization

We report a novel approach to the fabrication of polypyrrole/reduced graphene oxide/carbon nanotube (PPy/rGO/CNT) composites. Firstly, the growth of carbon nanotube (CNT) and the partial reduction of graphene oxide occurred simultaneously within 10 s under ambient conditions using a microwave-assisted approach. Polypyrrole (PPy) was then integrated with reduced graphene oxide/carbon nanotube (rGO/CNT) hybrid materials through in situ oxidative polymerization of pyrrole in the presence of dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid, which acts as a stabilizing and doping agent. The morphological, structural, electrical, and thermal properties of PPy/rGO/CNT composites are discussed in detail, and a possible formation mechanism is proposed. The results indicate that introducing rGO/CNT into the PPy polymer can improve both the thermal and electrical properties of the polymer. Enhanced conductivity of 1214.16 S/m was observed in the sample with 5 wt% rGO/CNT loading with a pressing pressure of 10 MPa compared to that in individual PPy and PPy/GO samples pressed at the same pressing pressure. This study provides a simple approach to the preparation of PPy/rGO/CNT composites with tunable electrical properties for a variety of potential electronic applications.