Preparation and electrochemical capacitance of poly(pyrrole-co-aniline)

Abstract The copolymer of pyrrole and aniline, poly(pyrrole‐ co ‐aniline), has been prepared by chemical oxidation of corresponding monomer mixtures with ammonium peroxysulfate. Techniques of FTIR, SEM‐EDS, and BET surface area measurement were used to characterize the structure and morphology of the copolymer. The electrochemical properties of the copolymer were investigated by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge‐discharge, and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The results indicated that poly(pyrrole‐ co ‐aniline) was about 100–300 nm in diameter and showed better electrochemical capacitive performance than polypyrrole and polyaniline. The specific capacitance of the copolymer electrode was 827 F/g at a current of 8 mA/cm 2 in 1 mol/L Na 2 SO 4 electrolyte. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2010