Abstract
Printed graphene supercapacitors have the potential to empower tomorrow’s wearable electronics. We report a solid-state flexible supercapacitor device printed on textiles using graphene oxide ink and a screen-printing technique. After printing, graphene oxide was reduced in situ via a rapid electrochemical method avoiding the use of any reducing reagents that may damage the textile substrates. The printed electrodes exhibited excellent mechanical stability due to the strong interaction between the ink and textile substrate. The unique hierarchical porous structure of the electrodes facilitated ionic diffusion and maximised the surface area available for the electrolyte/active material interface. The obtained device showed outstanding cyclic stability over 10 000 cycles and maintained excellent mechanical flexibility, which is necessary for wearable applications. The simple printing technique is readily scalable and avoids the problems associated with fabricating supercapacitor devices made of conductive yarn, as previously reported in the literature.
Highlights
Introduction us cri ptThe rapid development in wearable technology requires a new generation of energy storage devices that satisfy the future design requirements
We found that the graphene oxide (GO) flakes are uniformly coated on the individual yarns, even after reduction (Figure 1)
Sheets in membranes, fibres and coatings was reported in the literature and is attributed to two reasons: (1) the strong van der Waals interactions and (2) the formation of hydrogen bonds through the oxygen functional groups and water molecules on the surface of the GO flakes.[42, 43]
Summary
The rapid development in wearable technology requires a new generation of energy storage devices that satisfy the future design requirements. High-performance sportswear, wearable displays, sensors and other embedded health monitoring devices, new classes of mobile communication devices, and possibly even new classes of wearable computers.[1, 2] To empower these new wearable devices, the energy storage system must have reasonable mechanical flexibility in addition to high energy and power density, good operational safety, long cycling life and be low cost.[3, 4] Among the many energy storage devices available, flexible supercapacitors (SCs) are promising candidates because of their quick charge-discharge capabilities, long life cycles and good safety.[5, 6] This is because SCs directly drives electrical charge in and out of electrical double layers, instead of storing the energy through chemical redox reactions, which is the case for batteries. There are many challenges associated with the development of flexible SCs. Some of the issues are related to the active materials, but others are related to the flexible substrate or the device fabrication method. Some of the issues are related to the active materials, but others are related to the flexible substrate or the device fabrication method. [7]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
