Wire-shaped, all-solid-state, high-performance flexible asymmetric supercapacitors based on (Mn,Fe) oxides/reduced graphene oxide/oxidized carbon nanotube fiber hybrid electrodes

Abstract

Wire-shaped flexible supercapacitors (FSCs) have attracted tremendous attention due to their tiny volume, lightweight, high flexibility, and wearability. In the present study, we report the MnO2- or Fe2O3-loaded three-dimensional (3D) nanostructure networks of reduced graphene oxide (rGO) composite on oxidized CNT (denoted as the OCNTF/3D-rGO/MnO2 and OCNTF/3D-rGO/Fe2O3) fibers as the cathode and anode, respectively, for the fabrication of a high-performance, wire-shaped, all-solid-state, flexible asymmetric supercapacitor (FASC). To this end, the 3D-rGO/OCNTF hierarchical structure was electrochemically fabricated, followed by further pulse electrodeposition of MnO2 and Fe2O3, respectively, into the 3D porous graphene networks and the insides of the OCNTF. As such, they were restricted to nano-sized particles and linked by the graphene and the OCNTF. The OCNTF/3D-rGO/MnO2 as the cathode was assembled with the OCNTF/3D-rGO/Fe2O3 as the anode with the carboxymethyl cellulose sodium (CMC)-Na2SO4 gel electrolyte, producing a wire-shaped, all-solid-state FASC that achieved a high specific capacitance of 59.2 F·cm−3 (171 mF·cm−2) and an exceptional energy density of 26.7 mWh·cm−3. The FASC device also showed good flexibility and cyclability, promising to advance power sources for wearable electronics.