All-Printed Paper-Based Micro-supercapacitors Using Water-Based Additive-Free Oxidized Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Pastes

• Published in: ACS applied energy materials 2021-12, Vol.4 (12), p.13666-13675
• Main Authors: Jo, Ajeong, Chung, Sung-il, Kim, Pan Kyeom, Lee, Jae-Won, Lee, Hye Jung, Yang, Hye Jin, Ha, Tae-gyu, Kim, Juhee, Lee, Young Jae, Jeong, Hee Jin, Seo, Seon Hee, Jeong, Seung Yol, Lee, Geon-Woong, Baeg, Kang-Jun, Han, Joong Tark, Park, Jong Hwan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2574-0962; 2574-0962
• DOI: 10.1021/acsaem.1c02345

Printing technologies that integrate wearable components onto flexible and stretchable substrates are crucial for the development of miniaturized wearable electronics. In this study, we developed all-printed paper-based flexible micro-supercapacitors based on water-based additive-free oxidized single-walled carbon nanotube pastes. The use of a modified Brodie’s method with mild oxidants and minimum usage of strong acids enabled the production of highly conductive and printable oxidized single-walled carbon nanotube pastes. Pseudo-plastic pastes were obtained because of the numerous hydrogen bonds between the oxidized single-walled carbon nanotubes. By photothermal treatment with intense pulsed light irradiation, a microporous structure was developed in the interdigitated energy storage electrodes to facilitate the infiltration of electrolytes. The paper-based flexible micro-supercapacitor exhibited a high energy density of 0.51 μW h cm–2 at a power density of 0.59 mW cm–2 and a superior capacity retention of 85% after 10,000 bending cycles with a bending radius of 3 mm. The all-printed flexible micro-supercapacitor array with a total capacitance of 0.1 mF charged to 4.0 V successfully powered a commercial digital clock for approximately 40 s. The micro-supercapacitor array operated properly under both tensile and compressive strains. These results demonstrate that the water-based additive-free oxidized single-walled carbon nanotube pastes are promising printable materials for the construction of flexible micro-supercapacitors.