Monolithically integrated micro-supercapacitors with high areal number density produced by surface adhesive-directed...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Electrical Engineering
• Nanotechnology

Background:

• Accurate electrolyte placement on micro-supercapacitor (MSC) arrays is challenging.
• This limits the development of densely-compact monolithically integrated MSCs (MIMSCs).

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a controllable electrolyte-directed assembly strategy for precise isolation of densely-packed MSCs.
• To achieve scalable production of MIMSCs with ultrahigh areal number density and output voltage.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a patterned adhesive surface across MIMSCs.
• Induction of electrolyte-directed assembly on highly adhesive MSC regions.
• Achieving micron-scale spatial separation of electrolyte droplets within seconds.

Main Results:

• Demonstrated scalable production of MIMSCs with 210 cells cm^-2 areal number density.
• Achieved a high areal voltage of 555 V cm^-2.
• MSCs showed no performance degradation after 9000 cycles at 190 V.

Conclusions:

• The electrolyte-directed assembly strategy enables precise isolation of densely-packed MSCs.
• The developed MIMSCs offer ultrahigh areal density, high output voltage, and excellent cycling stability.
• Demonstrated a practical, ultracompact, wirelessly-chargeable MIMSC system for versatile applications.