Cultivating High-Performance Flexible All-in-One Supercapacitors With 3D Network Through Continuous Biosynthesis

Adv Mater. 2024 Aug;36(31):e2402695. doi: 10.1002/adma.202402695. Epub 2024 May 29.

Abstract

Flexible supercapacitors can potentially power next-generation flexible electronics. However, the mechanical and electrochemical stability of flexible supercapacitors under different flexible conditions is limited by the weak bonding between adjacent layers, posing a significant hindrance to their practical applicability. Herein, based on the uninterrupted 3D network during the growth of bacterial cellulose (BC), a flexible all-in-one supercapacitor is cultivated through a continuous biosynthesis process. This strategy ensures the continuity of the 3D network of BC throughout the material, thereby forming a continuous electrode-separator-electrode structure. Benefitting from this bioinspired structure, the all-in-one supercapacitor not only achieves a high areal capacitance (3.79 F cm-2) of electrodes but also demonstrates the integration of high tensile strength (2.15 MPa), high shear strength (more than 54.6 kPa), and high bending resistance, indicating a novel pathway toward high-performance flexible power sources.

Keywords: all‐in‐one structure; continuous biosynthesis; high bending resistance; high shear strength; uninterrupted 3D network.