Inkjet printed highly transparent and flexible graphene micro-supercapacitors.

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Energy Storage
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Portable and wearable technologies demand advanced energy storage solutions.
• Existing devices often lack flexibility, transparency, and cost-effective manufacturing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a scalable and low-cost fabrication method for transparent and flexible micro-supercapacitors.
• To evaluate the performance and durability of these novel energy storage devices.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a comprehensive inkjet printing process.
• Fabricated solid-state devices with printed thin films of graphene flakes as interdigitated electrodes.

Main Results:

• Achieved excellent performance-to-transparency ratios (16–99 μF cm⁻² across 71–90% transmittance).
• Demonstrated negligible capacitance degradation during device bending.
• Successfully fabricated transparent and flexible micro-supercapacitors.

Conclusions:

• Inkjet printing offers a simple, scalable, and low-cost method for producing high-performance transparent and flexible micro-supercapacitors.
• These devices hold significant potential for integration into portable solar cells and wearable sensors.