A flexible, high-energy density, and temperature-tolerant asymmetric supercapacitor based on water-in-salt gel electrolyte

Abstract

The dramatic development of wearable electronics has led to extensive research into flexible supercapacitors as wearable energy storage devices. The practical application of supercapacitors to wearable electronics requires improved temperature tolerance and high energy density. Herein, we report the fabrication of a high-voltage flexible aqueous supercapacitor featuring high energy density and a wide operating temperature range. This is achieved by the strategy of simultaneously utilizing asymmetric electrodes and water-in-salt gel electrolyte (WISGE). Using NaClO4-based WISGE and asymmetric electrodes consisting of Na-inserted MnO2 and N-doped carbon nanofibers, we obtain excellent electrochemical performance, including a gravimetric capacitance of 97.2 F g−1, energy density of 90 Wh kg−1, power density of 28.1 kW kg−1, operation voltage window of 2.6 V, and capacitance retention of 85.2% over 10,000 charge/discharge cycles. The fabricated flexible supercapacitor is stable under repeated temperature changes between − 20 and 80 °C, regardless of bending deformation. After three cycles of cooling and heating, the initial capacitance at room temperature is 95.1% recovered. This study demonstrates the potential application of our high-performance flexible aqueous supercapacitors to wearable devices, given their resistance to changes in environmental temperature and mechanical deformation.