Recent Progress on the Synthesis, Morphological Topography, and Battery Applications of Polypyrrole-Based Nanocomposites

Abstract

Polypyrrole (PPy)-based nanocomposite materials are of great interest to the scientific community owing to their usefulness in designing state-of-the-art industrial applications, such as fuel cells, catalysts and sensors, energy devices, and especially batteries. However, the commercialization of these materials has not yet reached a satisfactory level of implementation. More research is required for the design and synthesis of PPy-based composite materials for numerous types of battery applications. Due to the rising demand for environmentally friendly, cost-effective, and sustainable energy, battery applications are a significant solution to the energy crisis, utilizing suitable materials like PPy-based composites. Among the conducting polymers, PPy is considered an important class of materials owing to their ease of synthesis, low cost, environmentally friendly nature, and so on. In this context, PPy-based nanocomposites may be very promising due to their nanostructural properties and distinct morphological topography, which are vital concerns for their applications for battery applications. Such features of PPy-based nanocomposites make them particularly promising for next-generation electrode materials. However, the design and fabrication of appropriate PPy-based nanocomposites for battery applications is still a challenging area of research. This review paper describes the current progress on the synthesizing of PPy-based composites for battery applications along with their morphological topography. We discussed here the recent progress on the synthesis of different PPy-based composites, including PPy/S, PPy/MnOx, MWCNT/PPy, V₂O₅/PPy, Cl-doped PPy/rGO, and Fe/α-MnO₂@PPy composites, by a polymerization approach for numerous battery applications. The insights presented in this review aim to provide a comprehensive reference for the future development of PPy-based composites in battery technology.

Keywords: and battery applications; conductive polymers; electrode material; morphology; nanocomposites; polymerization approach; polypyrrole; synthesis.

Figure 1

Synthesis of polypyrrole-based nanocomposites [35].

Figure 2

Schematic illustration of the numerous synthesis processes of PPy-based composites.

Figure 3

Synthesis of Cl-doped PPy/rGO composites through hydrothermal technique [69].

Figure 4

Schematic illustration of the fabrication of S/PPy composite through using one-step ball milling process [69].

Figure 5

Schematic demonstration of the synthesis of PPy-coated V₂O₅ yolk-shell nanospheres [61].

Figure 6

(a) SEM micrographs of Fe/a-MnO₂@PPy composites. (b) TEM and (c) HRTEM of Fe/a MnO₂@PPy composites. (d) The Mapping images of Mn, O, C, N, and Fe elements [30]. Reproduced with the permission from Ref. [30]. Copyright 2021, Elsevier.

Figure 7

FESEM micrographs of (a) S@PPy composite, (b) PPy@S@PPy composite [58]. Reproduced with the permission from Ref. [60]. Copyright 2015, Elsevier.

Figure 8

SEM micrograph of (a) PPy nanotubes and (b,c) MnO/PPy composite. (d) TEM image, (e) STEM micrograph, and corresponding (f) EDS mapping micrograph of the MnO/PPy composite [60]. Reproduced with the permission from Ref. [57]. Copyright 2022, Elsevier.

Figure 9

Schematic representation of the two-step synthesis process for the PPy-modified-β-MnO₂ nanocomposite. This figure is adopted from Ref. [19]. Copyright 2017, Elsevier.

Figure 10

Schematic illustration for the comparison of the electrochemical performance of Fe/α-MnO₂@PPy and α-MnO₂ electrodes. (a) Cyclic voltammetry curves. (b) Charge/discharge performance. (c) Cycling stability and (d) rate capability. (e) Charge/discharge profiles at varying current densities. (f) Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) plots for the cathodes. Reproduced with the permission from Ref. [30]. Copyright 2021, Elsevier.

Figure 11

Cyclic voltammetry profiles for hollow SnO₂ microspheres (a) and hollow SnO₂@PPy (21 wt%) core-shell nanocomposite anode (c) at scan rates of 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, and 0.5 mV s⁻¹. Corresponding plots of peak current (Ip) as a function of the square root of scan rate (v^1/2) for hollow SnO₂ microspheres (b) and hollow SnO₂@PPy (21 wt%) nanocomposite anode (d) are presented. Reproduced with permission from Ref. [128]. Copyright 2017, Elsevier.