New strategy to integrate biomass carbon and silk fibroin@graphene oxide hydrogel into high robust free-standing film for flexible supercapacitor

Abstract

Reasonable design of electrode materials with extraordinary mechanical and electrochemical performance is significant for next-generation flexible wearable electronics applications. Herein, we represent a highly robust free-standing film of biomass carbon (bio-C)/silk fibroin (SF) @reduced graphene oxide (rGO) obtained by reduction to the film derived from bio-C/SF@GO hydrogel assembled. In the bio-C/SF@GO hydrogel, the bio-C added is capable of alleviating the aggregation of GO by weakening the hydrophobic interactions between GO and SF due to steric affection, and endows it with a unique open pore structure, while the SF serves as an additive or binder not neither to anchor bio-C on the basal surface of GO through hydrophobic effect nor to improve mechanical performance by hydrogen bonding with GO and shorten processing time. As a result, the optimum sample of bio-C/SF@rGO-24 film electrode obtained exhibits a superior tensile strength of 11.40 MPa and highlights areal capacitance of 870 mF cm −2. Significantly, this method provides a lighthouse to convert other powdered particles into materials with good mechanical and electrochemical properties.