Electrochemical synthesis of Sm₂O₃ nanoparticles: Application in conductive polymer composite films for...

A novel electrosynthetic method was introduced to synthesize of Sm₂O₃ nanoparticles and furthermore, for improving the electrochemical performance of conductive polymer, hybrid POAP/Sm₂O₃ films have then been fabricated by POAP electropolymerization in the presence of Sm₂O₃ nanoparticles as active electrodes for electrochemical supercapacitors. The structure, morphology, chemical composition of Sm₂O₃ nanoparticles was examined. Surface and electrochemical analyses have been used for characterization of Sm₂O₃ and POAP/Sm₂O₃ composite films. Different electrochemical methods including galvanostatic charge discharge experiments, cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy have been applied to study the system performance. The supercapacity behavior of the composite film was attributed to the (i) high active surface area of the composite, (ii) charge transfer along the polymer chain due to the conjugation form of the polymer and finally (iii) synergism effect between conductive polymer and Sm₂O₃ nanoparticles.