Chapter 11 - Nanocarbons-based textiles for flexible energy storage

Abstract

The global energy demand is increasing rapidly due to the increasing number of population, continued consumption of products as well the development of new technologies to make life easier for human beings. As a result, the demand for the development and implementation of renewable and clean energy sources are very high and at the same time the environmental pollution growing rapidly. The development of efficient energy storage systems become more and more urgent, and the highly efficient use of renewable energies has a major importance. The performance of modern electrochemical energy storage devices such as rechargeable batteries and supercapacitors depends strongly on the properties of the materials used. At this point, the use of nanomaterials and composites because of their large surface volume becomes very important. Nanomaterials and nanocarbons play a leading role in many areas and can be found in electronic components, target arrays, intelligent textiles, protective textiles, biosensors, automotive and aerospace industries, pharmaceutical products, dyes, conductive polymers, etc. By using nanocarbons such as fullerene, carbon nanotubes, carbon quantum dots, graphene, or carbon nanofibers (CNFs) as filler material, new composites with improved mechanical and conductive properties are produced which are essential for many industrial applications. In addition, scientific interest in the field of CNFs is growing rapidly, which is reflected in the number of publications in this field. CNFs can be easily produced from polyacrylonitrile nanofibers by electrospinning and converted to nanocarbon by oxidative stabilization and carbonization processes. Such nanocarbon materials are versatile and can support the development of high performance electronics and offer high levels of flexibility. The combination of different materials leads to the development of new hybrid materials which play a central role in lightweight construction and composites. In addition, developments in the joining technology of new multifunctional polymeric materials between the different material classes are decisive for efficient use in many areas of application. Accordingly efficient handling of materials is of crucial importance. Today’s energy storage systems, such as commercially available battery systems, are still relatively heavy, rigid and not suitable as flexible, and portable electronics. These next generation energy storage systems can be engineered in advance during the production of nanocarbon materials to meet the defined application areas. Flexible energy storage systems are in high demand by industry and are of great importance for science.