Fully stretchable self-charging power unit with micro-supercapacitor and triboelectric nanogenerator based on oxidized single-walled carbon nanotube/polymer electrodes

• DOI: 10.1016/j.nanoen.2021.106083
• Publication Date: 2021-04-24T07:20:08Z
• Authors: Hye Jin Yang; Jae-Won Lee; Seon Hee Seo; Bosu Jeong; Byunghak Lee; Woo Jong Do; Jung Hoon Kim; Joon Young Cho; Ajeong Jo; Hee Jin Jeong; Seung Yol Jeong; Guang-Hoon Kim; Geon-Woong Lee; Young-Eun Shin; Hyunhyub Ko; Joong Tark Han; Jong Hwan Park
• Keywords: 02 engineering and technology; 0210 nano-technology; 7. Clean energy; 620

Abstract A key requirement for wearable electronics is an adequate and sustainable power source. Accordingly, a self-powering unit that replaces rechargeable secondary batteries is a promising solution. However, to realize permanent, maintenance-free, and highly durable wearable electronics, stretchable self-powering units that can harvest and store energy should be developed. In this study, we developed a fully stretchable self-charging power unit that integrates a micro-supercapacitor and triboelectric nanogenerator using oxidized single-walled carbon nanotube/polymer electrodes. The fully stretchable micro-supercapacitor with oxidized single-walled carbon nanotube/polyvinylalcohol electrodes exhibited a double layer capacitance of 20 mF cm−2 at 0.1 mA cm−2 and improved mechanical flexibility and stretchability over 10,000 cycles of stretching tests. A stretchable, polydimethylsiloxane-based current collector employing silver nanoparticles embedded with oxidized single-walled carbon nanotubes enabled the fully stretchable, freestanding-triboelectric-layer based nanogenerators to produce a maximum instantaneous power density of 84.4 mW m−2 under periodic and round-trip sliding of a Nylon fabric while stretching up to 40% without significant performance degradation. Furthermore, a micro-supercapacitor of fully stretchable self-charging power unit could be successfully charged by the nanogenerator from 0 to 2.2 V in 1200 s and powered commercial digital clock for approximately 10 s. These results demonstrate that stretchable polymer composites with oxidized single-walled carbon nanotubes are suitable electrodes and active materials for fully stretchable and self-powered wearable electronics.