Multi‐functional structural supercapacitor based on manganese oxide‐hydroxide nanowires modified carbon fiber fabric electrodes

Abstract

AbstractCarbon fiber is an ideal candidate for preparing electrode of structural supercapacitors, while its low specific surface area is a vital factor which restricts energy storage performance. In this study, MnOOH nanowires (MnOOH‐NWs) are in‐situ deposited onto the woven carbon fiber fabric (WCF) surface through an effective one‐step hydrothermal treatment to prepare MnOOH‐NWs modified WCF (MnOOH‐NWs@WCF) structural supercapacitor with appreciable electrochemical performance. The areal capacitance of MnOOH‐NWs@WCF structural supercapacitor reaches 77.1 mF/cm2, which is two orders of magnitude higher than that made from neat WCF electrode. The increase in areal capacitance is primarily due to the presence of conductive networks and abundant ion storage sites constructed by the MnOOH‐NWs. Meanwhile, flexural strength and modulus of the MnOOH‐NWs@WCF structural supercapacitor are 30.3 MPa and 1.8 GPa, respectively. Interestingly, the resultant structural supercapacitor also enables electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding based on the conductive networks constructed by the WCF and MnOOH‐NWs, and the maximum EMI‐shielding effectiveness (EMI‐SE) is 59.1 dB. Consequently, a highly integrated multi‐functional structural supercapacitor is developed, which cannot only be applied as energy storage module and load bearing component but can also be adopted to protect electronic devices from the electromagnetic pollution.