A modularization approach for linear-shaped functional supercapacitors

Abstract

Linear-shaped supercapacitors are promising candidates for powering portable as well as wearable electronics, because of their small volume, high flexibility and outstanding electrochemical performance. It is even more desirable to embed additional functionalities into these supercapacitors, and consequently exploiting their application area. We thus introduced a novel modularization approach for linear functional supercapacitors, aiming at realizing rapid assembling. This approach is largely based on the common module, a self-standing polypyrrole (PPy)-based tube, obtained by using a reciprocal formwork construction technique. With the assistance of an elastic solid electrolyte and flexible graphene, the integrity of the inner PPy film in this common module could be perfectly retained even after detachment, which ensured outstanding performance of the resultant functional devices. By combining this common module with other building blocks, three kinds of high performance prototypes could be easily achieved, including cable-shaped shape memory supercapacitors, cable-shaped supercapacitor yarns and asymmetric cable-shaped supercapacitors, meeting the requirements of different applications. Our modularization approach creatively applied a common module in different functional supercapacitor systems reducing the workload significantly, meanwhile inspiring other brilliant modular designs for various coaxial linear devices.