Thin Supercapacitors Research Articles

Fabrication of hybrid tin oxide‐cellulose nanocomposite as the flexible and thin supercapacitor

AbstractMicrofibrillated cellulose (MFC) with reinforcing effects is a useful building block in the fabrication of flexible and thin supercapacitors. Herein, a hybrid tin oxide‐cellulose nanocomposite was hydrothermally produced and coated on MFC thin films to form a supercapacitor. The hybrid tin oxide‐cellulose thin films were structurally analyzed using scanning electrode microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and x‐ray diffraction. The cellulose thin film with the highest loading of hybrid tin oxide‐cellulose nanocomposite exhibited a specific capacitance of 225.88 F g−1 at 100 mV s−1 and 486.38 F g−1 at 20 mV s−1 in the three‐electrode electrochemical system. In addition, it revealed good cyclic stability up to 40 cycles run continuously with 95% cyclic retention. The high specific capacitance and superior cyclic stability could be related to the enhanced charge mobility and ion diffusion between the solid and electrolyte interface. The cellulose thin film coated with flower‐like hybrid nanocomposite showed great potential in energy storage.

All-solid-state supercapacitors with poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-coated carbon fiber paper electrodes and ionic liquid gel polymer electrolyte

All-solid-state thin supercapacitors have been fabricated using current pulse polymerized poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) over carbon fiber paper and ionic liquid based gel polymer electrolyte. The PEDOT-coated carbon paper electrodes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) which confirm the porous morphology of PEDOT at the nanoscale and a high degree of ClO4− dopant ion conjugation. The performance characteristics of the supercapacitor cells have been evaluated by ac impedance spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge-discharge techniques. The PEDOT electrode shows specific capacitance of ∼154.5 F g−1, which correspond to the cell area-normalized capacitance of 85 mF cm−2. The maximum specific energy and specific power of the solid-state supercapacitor cell, calculated from charge-discharge characteristics, are 6.5 Wh kg−1 and 11.3 kW kg−1, respectively. The solid-state supercapacitor shows good cycle durability and time stability. The thin, lightweight, gel electrolyte based supercapacitor shows considerable potential for low-cost, high-performance energy storage applications.