Comprehensive approaches to three-dimensional flexible supercapacitor electrodes based on MnO.sub.2/carbon nanotube/activated carbon fiber felt

• Published in: Journal of materials science Vol. 52; no. 10; pp. 5788 - 5798
• Main Authors: Zhang, Jingwen, Dong, Liubing, Xu, Chengjun, Hao, Jianwu, Kang, Feiyu, Li, Jia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Springer 01.05.2017
• Subjects: Capacitors; Comparative analysis; Electric properties; Electrochemistry; Electrodes; Electrolytes; Methods; Nanotubes; Textile industry
• ISSN: 0022-2461; 1573-4803
• DOI: 10.1007/s10853-017-0813-3

With the fast development of portable and wearable devices, flexible supercapacitor electrodes are widely researched. Here, comprehensive approaches were designed to introduce carbon nanotube (CNT) and/or MnO.sub.2 into activated carbon fiber felt (ACFF) using "dipping and drying" method. Differences on micro-morphologies and electrochemical characteristics for prepared textiles were compared. High-performance flexible MnO.sub.2/CNT/ACFF composite electrodes were synthesized by introducing CNT and MnO.sub.2/CNT fillers successively. Compared with original ACFF textiles, significant improvements in electrochemical performance were achieved. Areal capacitance, energy density and power density of the composite textiles reached as high as 4148 mF cm.sup.-2, 141 [mu]Wh cm.sup.-2 and 4466 [mu]W cm.sup.-2, respectively. Furthermore, flexible supercapacitors were fabricated based on the composite textile electrodes and gel electrolytes. When being bent at different angles or suffering deformations such as bending for 100 cycles, the flexible supercapacitors preserve almost all the capacitance, which indicates the excellent flexibility of the composite textile electrode. This work provides various approaches to design composite textiles, and the prepared MnO.sub.2/CNT/ACFF composite textile may be a promising electrode material for high-performance flexible supercapacitors.