Ultrahigh‐Conductivity Polymer Hydrogels with Arbitrary Structures

• Published in: Advanced materials (Weinheim) 2017-07, Vol.29 (28), p.n/a
• Main Authors: Yao, Bowen, Wang, Haiyan, Zhou, Qinqin, Wu, Mingmao, Zhang, Miao, Li, Chun, Shi, Gaoquan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Capacitance; Columns (structural); conducting polymers; conductive hydrogels; Conductivity; Energy storage; fiber supercapacitors; Heat treatment; Hydrogels; Materials science; poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(4‐styrenesulfonate); Sulfuric acid; Wearable technology
• ISSN: 0935-9648; 1521-4095
• DOI: 10.1002/adma.201700974

A poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(4‐styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) hydrogel is prepared by thermal treatment of a commercial PEDOT:PSS (PH1000) suspension in 0.1 mol L−1 sulfuric acid followed by partially removing its PSS component with concentrated sulfuric acid. This hydrogel has a low solid content of 4% (by weight) and an extremely high conductivity of 880 S m−1. It can be fabricated into different shapes such as films, fibers, and columns with arbitrary sizes for practical applications. A highly conductive and mechanically strong porous fiber is prepared by drying PEDOT:PSS hydrogel fiber to fabricate a current‐collector‐free solid‐state flexible supercapacitor. This fiber supercapacitor delivers a volumetric capacitance as high as 202 F cm−3 at 0.54 A cm−3 with an extraordinary high‐rate performance. It also shows excellent electrochemical stability and high flexibility, promising for the application as wearable energy‐storage devices. A poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(4‐styrenesulfonate) hydrogel treated by concentrated sulfuric acid shows an extraordinarily high conductivity of 880 S m−1. It can be fabricated into arbitrary structures for practical applications. A current‐collector‐free all‐solid fiber supercapacitor based on dried fibers of this hydrogel exhibits a performance superior to those of previously reported counterparts.