Researchers at the University of Surrey’s Advanced Technology Institute (ATI) and the Federal University of Pelotas in Brazil (UFPel) have developed a supercapacitor that is flexible and stretchy that could be used in the future of smart clothing and internet of things (IoT) wearables.
A supercapacitor stores and releases electricity, like a battery, but it does so with far quicker recharging and discharging times.
“Supercapacitors are key to ensuring that 5G and 6G technologies reach their full potential,” said Ravi Silva, director of ATI at the University of Surrey. “While supercapacitors can certainly boost the lifespan of wearable consumer technologies, they have the potential to be revolutionary when you think about their role in autonomous vehicles and AI-assisted smart sensors that could help us all conserve energy. This is why it’s important that we create a low cost and environmentally friendly way to produce this incredibly promising energy storage technology. The future is certainly bright for supercapacitors.”
How they did it
The team developed the flexible supercapacitors based on carbon nanomaterials and the method is cheaper and less time-consuming to fabricate.
The process involves transferring aligned carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays from a silicon wafer to a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) matrix. It is then coated in polyaniline that stores energy through pseudocapacitance. This offers energy storage properties with exceptional mechanical integrity, researchers said.
The wafer-thin flexible supercapacitor retains most of its capacitance after numerous cycles at different bending conditions.
The full research can be found in the journal Nanoscale.
