Integrated Construction of a Long‐Life Stretchable Zinc‐Ion Capacitor

Abstract

The major challenge in achieving high‐performance stretchable zinc‐ion energy‐storage devices is the combination of stretchable dendrite‐free zinc negative electrodes and sufficient bonding between components (current collector, electrode, separator, and package). Herein, based on a series of physicochemically tunable self‐healing polyurethanes, an elastic current collector is prepared through a swelling‐induced wrinkling method, and then a stretchable zinc negative electrode prepared through in situ confined electroplating. The elastic current collector has a nano‐network structure with polyurethane encapsulation, and exhibits both geometric and intrinsic stretchability. The stretchable zinc negative electrode formed in situ has high electrochemical activity and exhibits an excellent cycle life under the protection of a Zn2+‐permeable coating. Furthermore, fully polyurethane‐based stretchable zinc‐ion capacitors are assembled through in situ electrospinning and hot‐pressing techniques. Due to the high stretchability of the components and the interfusion of the matrixes, the integrated device exhibits excellent deformability and desirable electrochemical stability. This work provides a systematic construction plan for stretchable zinc‐ion energy‐storage devices in three aspects: material synthesis, component preparation, and device assembly.

Construction of Mechanical Robust Elastomers by Simulating the Strengthening and Healing Process of Natural Skin toward Multifunctional Electronics

“…High-performance flexible electronics, such as electronic skin and ionic skin, have experienced booming development over the past decades. − Polymeric elastomers, one of the most promising substrate materials for flexible electronics, are susceptible to damage during their use, hindering their further progression. − Therefore, it is necessary to endow elastomers with high mechanical properties to improve their safety and excellent self-healing ability to repair injuries, remarkably prolonging the service life of flexible electronic devices . In contrast to elastomers that require high temperatures to repair, room-temperature self-healing elastomers are more suitable for the substrate materials of flexible electronics due to their gentler healing conditions. − For example, Jing synthesized an elastomer with 16 MPa tensile strength via a structural–functional region optimization strategy, capable of autonomous healing at room temperature within 6 h. By simultaneously incorporating hydrogen bond-containing covalent cross-linking sites and dynamic disulfide bonds into the polymer chain, Cai successfully prepared a room-temperature self-healing elastomer with tensile strength as high as 31.0 MPa and a fast-healing efficiency of 93.60% within 48 h.…”

Multifunctional Zincophilic Hydrogel Electrolyte with Abundant Hydrogen Bonds for Zinc-Ion Capacitors and Supercapacitors

“…Based on the abovementioned problems, researchers are committed to developing multifunction electrolytes to fundamentally change the current situation of aqueous electrolytes. As a kind of quasi-solid electrolyte system, hydrogel electrolyte combines the advantages of both solid and liquid electrolytes, which has a similar ionic conductivity of liquid electrolyte and better interface wettability compared to solid electrolytes. , Thus, hydrogel electrolytes can be a perfect alternative to aqueous electrolyte systems. Compared with the traditional aqueous electrolyte, the multifunctional hydrogel electrolyte has the following irreplaceable advantages: , (1) relatively low water content, which perfectly solves the leakage problems; (2) excellent mechanical strength and can change its shape, which provides more choices for the application form of the energy storage device; and (3) can be adjusted by a variety of multifunctional additives to give various functions.…”

Dual design of electrodes and electrolytes ensures flexible symmetric micro-supercapacitors with high energy density

“…In particular, micro energy storage devices with high safety, and high area energy/power density, originating from the integration of micro energy storage devices with microelectronic devices, are subject to strict size limitations. 4–6 In principle, the total area size of micro energy storage devices can only be at the square centimetre level or even square millimetre level. 7,8 However, current power supplies are heavy in mass, large in size, and lack flexibility to meet the demand for compatibility with flexible microelectronic devices.…”