Novel polymer electrolyte derived from diazonaphthone monomers for an aqueous supercapacitor with high cell potential and superior safety

Abstract

Supercapacitors have attracted considerable attention due to their high-power density and long cycle life. However, flexibility and safety have become new challenges encountered by supercapacitors with the further increase in their demand. Here, we have prepared a novel electrolyte which is further compounded by combining a polymer with a rigid main chain and a flexible side chain as a support matrix. It has more stable thermomechanical properties and mechanical strength compared to liquid and conventional solid polymer electrolytes. Furthermore, it demonstrates a high ionic conductivity of 3.2 × 10−2 S cm−1 at room temperature, and an extended electrochemical window of 2 V. Consequently, the assembled symmetric supercapacitors show acceptable electrochemical performance. We believe that this simultaneous introduction of rigid structures and flexible chain segments provides a novel and effective strategy for building solid polymer electrolytes that can be practically applied.