A flexible asymmetric supercapacitor with organohydrogel electrolyte for high voltage operation over wide temperature range

Abstract

It is highly desirable for supercapacitors to achieve mechanical flexibility and temperature tolerance, as well as high energy density, to fully utilize their superior characteristics of high-power density and long cycle stability to realize their potential as practical wearable energy storage devices. We devise a novel strategy to fabricate a flexible asymmetric supercapacitor based on dual network organohydrogel, exhibiting high energy density and electrochemical stability over a wide temperature range spanning 100 ℃. A three-dimensional core–shell NiCo2O4@MnO2 nanostructure is selected as the positive electrode to supply multiple ion diffusion channels through its mesoporous structure, and nano structured N-doped carbon nanofibers as the negative electrode to increase the contact area with electrolyte, and 6 M KOH based organohydrogel as electrolyte. The resulting supercapacitor exhibits high electrochemical performance including a high operation voltage of 1.7 V and high energy density of 51.1 Wh kg−1 at a power density of 850 W kg−1 and is stable over temperature changes between –20 and 80 ℃. This work demonstrates a high-performance supercapacitor designed with 3D asymmetric electrodes and a dual network organohydrogel, suitable as a practical energy storage device, requiring mechanical stability and stability against temperature change. © 2023 Elsevier B.V.