Preparation of highly conductive polypyrrole/graphite oxide composites via in situ polymerization

Graphite oxide (GO)/polypyrrole (PPy) composites with high electrical conductivity have been prepared via in situ polymerization. The bonding structures of the resulting composites were characterized by ultraviolet (UV)-visible spectra and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), which indicate no significant chemical interaction between PPy and GO. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) show that the GO surface is coated with a uniform PPy layer. In comparison with GO, the electrical conductivity of the composite increases by four orders of magnitude higher than that of pristine GO. The thermal stability of PPy/GO composite, characterized by thermogravimetry (TG), is higher than that of the pure GO.