Printable thin film supercapacitors using single-walled carbon nanotubes

Nano Lett. 2009 May;9(5):1872-6. doi: 10.1021/nl8038579.

Abstract

Thin film supercapacitors were fabricated using printable materials to make flexible devices on plastic. The active electrodes were made from sprayed networks of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) serving as both electrodes and charge collectors. Using a printable aqueous gel electrolyte as well as an organic liquid electrolyte, the performances of the devices show very high energy and power densities (6 W h/kg for both electrolytes and 23 and 70 kW/kg for aqueous gel electrolyte and organic electrolyte, respectively) which is comparable to performance in other SWCNT-based supercapacitor devices fabricated using different methods. The results underline the potential of printable thin film supercapacitors. The simplified architecture and the sole use of printable materials may lead to a new class of entirely printable charge storage devices allowing for full integration with the emerging field of printed electronics.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.