Highly Stretchable Microsupercapacitor Arrays with Honeycomb Structures for Integrated Wearable Electronic Systems

ACS Nano. 2016 Oct 25;10(10):9306-9315. doi: 10.1021/acsnano.6b03880. Epub 2016 Sep 19.

Abstract

The rapid development of portable and wearable electronics has greatly increased the demand for energy storage devices with similar physical properties and integration capability. This paper introduces a honeycomb polydimethylsiloxane substrate for stretchable microsupercapacitor (MSC) arrays, which enables facile integration with other electronics. The honeycomb structure can accommodate a large deformation without producing excessive strain in the MSCs and interconnects. The results of this study show that such stretchable MSC arrays with single-walled carbon nanotube electrodes demonstrate excellent rate capability and power performance as well as electrochemical stability up to 150% (zero prestrain) or 275% (-50% prestrain) stretching and under excessive bending or twisting. The present stretchable MSC arrays with honeycomb structures show high potential for integration with other electronics, such as energy harvesters, power management circuits, wireless charging circuits, and various sensors, encompassing a wide range of wearable, bioimplantable electronic systems.

Keywords: honeycomb structure; microsupercapacitors; polydimethylsiloxane; single-walled carbon nanotubes; stretchable electronics.