Pseudocapacitance is a material property that allows ions to enter inside the material and thus pack much more charge than carbon ones that mostly store the charge near the surface (in the so-called double layer). Conducting polymers show great promise as supercapacitor materials due to their high pseudocapacitance, low cost, toughness, and flexibility. The problem with polymer-based supercapacitors, however, is that the ions necessary for these chemical reactions can only access the top few nanometers below the material surface, leaving the rest of the electrode as dead weight. Here, we use semi-interpenetrating networks (sIPNs) of a pseudocapacitive polymer in an ionically conductive polymer matrix to decrease ion diffusion length scales and make virtually all of the active material accessible for charge storage. Our freestanding poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(ethylene oxide) (PEDOT/PEO) sIPN films yield simultaneous improvements in three crucial elements of supercapacitor performance: specific capacitance (182 F/g, approaching the theoretical limit of PEDOT), cycling stability (97.5% capacitance retention after 3000 cycles), and flexibility (the electrodes bend to a &lt;200 μm radius of curvature without breaking). The supercapacitor based on our material, which is known as “Candy Cane Supercapacitor”, could power electronics embedded in smart clothing, wearable and implantable devices, and soft robotics.

Candy cane-like semi-interpenetrating polymer networks for enhanced fast-charging power source of electronics

255th National Meeting (2018)

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