Synergistic effects of reduced graphene oxide with freeze drying tuned interfacial structure on performance of transparent and flexible supercapacitors

Abstract

Transparent and flexible supercapacitors (TFSCs) could diversify the future wearable electronics owing to the fascinating optoelectronic and electrochemical performances. Herein, we report symmetric TFSCs assembled by reduced graphene oxide (rGO)@Ag nanowire/poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET) transparent electrodes for capacitive storage, in which the interfacial structure of rGO film can be tuned by a facile freeze drying technique. The enlarged interlayer spacing of rGO film deteriorated the electronic migration derived from the loose layer structure, whereas about 33–52% of the areal capacitance of TFSCs was boosted as compared with the ones without freeze drying at the same transmittance. It is concluded that the enlarged inter-distance of rGO film could facilitate diffusion and transport of ions in the electrolyte, furthermore, the expanded rGO film could provide more interface to accommodate more ions for storage. The simulation results also confirmed the lower diffusion barrier and larger band gap of rGO with larger interlayer distance. The mechanically robust TFSCs exhibit the maximum energy density of 89.2 nWh cm−2, and the maximum power density of 4.63 μW cm−2 with remaining energy density of 41.1 nWh cm−2, as well as 3000 cyclic stability, demonstrating an efficient strategy toward high performance TFSCs.