Highly Conductive and Reusable Cellulose Hydrogels for Supercapacitor Applications

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrochemistry
• Polymer Science

Background:

• Developing advanced electrolytes is crucial for high-performance energy storage devices.
• Hydrogels offer potential due to their high water content and ionic conductivity.
• Incorporating conductive polymers can enhance electrochemical properties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To fabricate novel Na-Alginate-based hydrogels using PEDOT:PSS and DMSO for supercapacitor applications.
• To investigate the effect of H2SO4 treatment on hydrogel conductivity.
• To evaluate the electrochemical performance, flexibility, and self-healing capabilities of the developed hydrogels.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of Na-Alginate/PEDOT:PSS hydrogels with DMSO.
• In-situ synthesis and H2SO4 treatment for enhanced conductivity.
• Characterization using FESEM, FTIR, and TGA.
• Electrochemical testing of flexible supercapacitors (specific capacitance, stability).

Main Results:

• Achieved a specific capacitance of 312 F/g for Na-Alginate/PEDOT:PSS based supercapacitors.
• Electrolytes showed high ionic conductivity (9.82 × 10⁻² S/cm for Na-Alginate).
• Supercapacitors demonstrated excellent stability (92.5% retention after 3000 cycles) and self-healing properties.

Conclusions:

• The Na-Alginate/PEDOT:PSS hydrogels are promising electrolytes for flexible and self-healing supercapacitors.
• The developed materials offer high performance and durability for energy storage applications.
• The dynamic cross-linking network contributes to the hydrogel's flexibility and self-healing capabilities.