Abstract
Graphene based sulfonated polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) hydrogel was synthesized and its performance as nanocomposite gel polymer electrolyte was investigated for application in quasi solid-state flexible supercapacitors. Hydrothermally reduced graphene (HRG) was synthesized through hydrothermal reduction of graphene oxide (GO). Sulfonated PVA hydrogel (SPVA) was synthesized with predetermined quantities of HRG to obtain nanocomposite gel polymer electrolytes coded as SPVA-HRG-x (x = content (wt.%) of HRG). The amorphous nature of SPVA-HRG-x was determined using X-ray diffraction (XRD) technique. The electrochemical performance of SPVA-HRG-x was evaluated using techniques like cyclic voltammetry (CV), galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD) and electrochemical spectroscopy (EIS) studies of a lab scale supercapacitor cell, fabricated using hydrothermally reduced carbon cloth (CCHy) current collectors coated with HRG (HRG-CCHy). In SPVA-HRG-0.5 electrolyte, HRG-CCHy exhibited specific capacitance of 200 F g-1 at 1 A g-1 and specific energy of 6.1 Wh kg-1 at specific power of 1 kW kg-1 and retained 93 % of its initial capacitance even after 5000 GCD cycles. The incorporation of SPVA with 0.5 wt.% of HRG-CCHy can be attributed to the increase in amorphous nature of SPVA-HRG-0.5, which in-turn lowers its impedance. This contributed to the remarkable supercapacitive behaviour of HRG-CCHy, demonstrating its potential as gel polymer electrolyte (GPE) for application in quasi solid-state flexible supercapacitors.
Highlights
In recent years, there has been sharp increase in the development of flexible supercapacitors (FSCs) for electronic devices as power sources, which have to be ultra-thin and flexible in-order to serve their purpose [1,2,3,4]
The addition of Hydrothermally reduced graphene (HRG) may contribute to the increase in amorphous nature of the Sulfonated PVA hydrogel (SPVA)-HRG-x [42], thereby enhancing the rate of penetration and conduction of ions [49]
SPVA-HRG-x were prepared by introducing HRG into SPVA and characterized using X-ray diffraction (XRD)
Summary
There has been sharp increase in the development of flexible supercapacitors (FSCs) for electronic devices as power sources, which have to be ultra-thin and flexible in-order to serve their purpose [1,2,3,4]. To increase the performance of supercapacitors, the usage of various types of carbons, mixed/binary metal oxide and sulfide-based electrode materials like nanochains [7], nanoflowers [8] and other nanostructures [9,10,11] has been widely reported. Carbon based materials are most widely used electrode materials in supercapacitor application, due to their high surface area and capability of storing charge in the form of an electric-double layer [12,13]. The synergy between the electrolyte and the electrode material creates a significant impact on the properties of a supercapacitor, like charge-discharge capabilities, cyclic stability, energy storage in the form of charge, and power delivery [16]
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