Fabrication of Flexible, Redoxable, and Conductive Nanopillar Arrays with Enhanced Electrochemical Performance

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2016 Aug 31;8(34):22220-6. doi: 10.1021/acsami.6b06579. Epub 2016 Aug 22.

Abstract

Highly ordered and flexible nanopillar arrays have received considerable interest for many applications of electrochemical devices because of their unique mechanical and structural properties. Here, we report on highly ordered polyoxometalate (POM)-doped polypyrrole (Ppy) nanopillar arrays produced by soft lithography and subsequent electrodeposition. As-prepared POM-Ppy/nanopillar films show superior electrochemical performances for pseudocapacitor and enzymeless electrochemical sensor applications and good mechanical properties, which allowed them to be easily bent and twisted. Regarding electrochemical characteristics for pseudocapacitive electrodes, the POM-Ppy/nanopillar electrodes are capable of delivering high areal capacitance of 77.0 mF cm(-2), high rate performance, and good cycle life of ∼100% retention over 3500 cycles even when bent. Moreover, the study suggests that the POM-Ppy/nanopillar electrodes have an excellent electrocatalytic activity toward hydrogen.

Keywords: biosensor; conducting polymer; nanopillar; polyoxometalate; supercapacitor.