The
design of functional solid electrolytes is crucial to develop
flexible nonsealing supercapacitors for lightweight, wearable, and
portable electronics. Herein, an innovative method was used to fabricate
LiCl electrospun electrolyte. A solid-state supercapacitor was assembled
using LiCl-containing nanofibers as both an electrolyte and separator,
and commercial activated carbon as the positive and negative electrodes,
respectively. The morphology and chemical composition of the novel
electrolyte was revealed using scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive
X-ray, Fourier transform infrared, and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller
analyses. The electrochemical properties of the solid-state supercapacitor
were characterized by cyclic voltammetry, galvanostatic charge–discharge,
and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy techniques. Additionally,
the performance of the supercapacitor device with the nanofiber electrolyte
was compared with that of the aqueous electrolyte-based and hydrogel-based
devices. The supercapacitor with the LiCl nanofiber electrolyte exhibited
an extended potential window of 2.3 V compared to 1.8 V for the aqueous-based
device and 2 V for the hydrogel-based device. Consequently, the specific
capacitance and energy density were increased by 9.6 and 44.6%, respectively,
when both devices are measured at 1 A/g.