Abstract
The increasing number of devices needed by wearable systems to bring radical advances in healthcare, robotics, and human-machine interfaces is a threat to their growth if the integration and energy-related challenges are not managed. A natural solution is to reduce the number of devices while retaining the functionality or simply using multifunctional devices, as demonstrated here through a stretchable supercapacitor (SSC) with intrinsic strain sensing. The presented SSC was obtained by electrodeposition of nanoflower MnOx on fabric (as a pseudocapacitive electrode) and three-dimensional conductive wrapping of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) to boost the performance. Among fabricated devices, the stretchable PEDOT:PSS/MnOx/PEDOT:PSS supercapacitor (SPMP-SC) showed the best performance (specific capacitance of 580 mF·cm-2 (108.1 F·g-1); energy density of 51.4 μWh·cm-2 at 0.5 mA). The stretchability (0-100%; 1000 cycles) analysis of SPMP-SC with Ecoflex encapsulation showed high capacitance retention (>90% for 40% stretch). The intrinsic strain sensing of the SSC was confirmed by the linear variation of capacitance (sensitivity -0.4%) during stretching. Finally, as a proof-of-concept, the application of SSC with intrinsic sensing was demonstrated for health monitoring through volumetric expansion of a manikin during ventilator operation and in robotics and by measuring the joint angle of a robotic hand.
Highlights
The advancements in wearable electronics and the rapid increase in the number of sensors and electronic devices they use to meet the requirements of popular applications such as health monitoring,[1,2] electronic skins,[3,4] robotics,[5] implantable devices,[6,7] flexible displays,[8] and wearable sensors[9−11] have brought to the fore the need for compatible energy storage devices (e.g., batteries and supercapacitors (SCs))
Material integrated sensing or the intrinsic sensing of energy storage devices can be hugely beneficial for applications such as wearable systems where the everincreasing number of single-functionality devices is detrimental to user acceptance as it comes at the cost of comfort.[17,18]
The electrodes were fabricated on a stretchable lycra fabric coated with a PEDOT:PSS conducting polymer followed by electrodeposition of MnOx active material
Summary
The advancements in wearable electronics and the rapid increase in the number of sensors and electronic devices they use to meet the requirements of popular applications such as health monitoring,[1,2] electronic skins,[3,4] robotics,[5] implantable devices,[6,7] flexible displays,[8] and wearable sensors[9−11] have brought to the fore the need for compatible energy storage devices (e.g., batteries and supercapacitors (SCs)). The energy storage devices in these applications are expected to deliver consistent power under mechanical deformations such as bending, twisting, and stretching,[12−16] which could lead to variations in the electrode−electrolyte interactions and the performance of the energy storage devices. Such intrinsic variations in the performance of these devices turned out to be attractive as they open an interesting opportunity for using them as sensors, in addition to their typical use as energy storage devices. With a binary redox state of MnOx-based stretchable supercapacitors (SSCs) (580 mF·cm−2 (108.1 F·g−1) capacitance, 51.4 μWh·cm−2 energy density, and high capacitance retention on stretching), we demonstrate for the first time the dual-function (energy storage and self-powered strain sensors) SCs
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