Printed all-solid flexible microsupercapacitors: towards the general route for high energy storage devices

Area of Science:

• Materials Science and Engineering
• Electrochemical Energy Storage

Background:

• Development of flexible and solid-state energy storage devices is crucial for wearable electronics.
• Microsupercapacitors (MSCs) offer high power density but often face challenges in fabrication scalability and mechanical flexibility.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and develop a novel, scalable method for fabricating all-solid flexible microsupercapacitors (MSCs).
• To investigate the electrochemical performance, cycling stability, and mechanical flexibility of screen-printed MSCs.

Main Methods:

• Utilized screen printing technology for fabricating all-solid flexible MSCs.
• Employed manganese dioxide/onion-like carbon (MnO2/OLC) as the active material.
• Used polyvinyl alcohol:H3PO4 (PVA:H3PO4) as the solid electrolyte.

Main Results:

• Achieved a capacity of 7.04 mF cm⁻² at a current density of 20 μA cm⁻² for screen-printed MnO2/OLC MSCs.
• Demonstrated excellent cycling stability with 80% capacity retention after 1000 cycles.
• Exhibited remarkable mechanical flexibility, maintaining performance when bent to a 3.5 mm radius, and successful printing on silicon, glass, and paper substrates.

Conclusions:

• Screen printing offers a versatile and scalable route for producing all-solid flexible MSCs.
• The developed method is compatible with roll-to-roll processing and adaptable to various active materials like OLC and carbon nanotubes.
• This approach paves the way for high-performance, printable energy storage solutions for flexible electronics.