Printed electrodes for flexible, light-weight solid-state supercapacitors – a feasibility study

Abstract

Purpose -It has been shown previously that offset lithography, a common printing technique, can be used to make electrodes for energy storage devices such as primary cells [1,2]. This paper reports on the feasibility of the manufacture of printed rechargeable power sources incorporating, in the first instance, electrode structures from the previous study, and moving on to improved electrode structures fabricated, via flexographic printing, using commercially available inks.Design/methodology/approach -A pair of the original Ag/C electrodes, printed via offset lithography, were sandwiched together with a PVA-KOH gel electrolyte and then sealed. The resultant structures were characterised using electrochemical techniques and the performance as supercapacitors assessed. Following these studies, electrode structures of the same dimensions, consisting of two layers, a silver based current collector covered with a high surface area carbon layer, were printed flexographically, using inks, on a melinex substrate. The characterisation and assessment of these structures, as supercapacitors, was determined.Findings -It was found that the supercapacitors constructed using the offset lithographic electrodes exhibited a capacitance of 0.72 mF/cm 2 and had an equivalent series resistance of 3.96 Ω. The structures fabricated via flexography exhibited a capacitance of 4 mF/cm 2 and had an equivalent series resistance of 1.25 Ω. The supercapacitor structures were subjected to bending and rolling tests to determine device performance under deformation and stress. It was found that supercapacitor performance was not significantly reduced by bending or rolling.Originality/value -This paper provides insight into the use of printed silver/carbon electrodes within supercapacitor structures and compares the performance of devices fabricated using inks for offset lithographic printing presses and those made using commercially available inks for flexographic printing. The potential viability of such structures for low-end and cheap energy storage devices is demonstrated.

Sustainable Advanced Manufacturing of Printed Electronics: An Environmental Consideration

“…lightweight, flexible, and large area substrates [17][18][19][20][21][22]. Printing technologies and the pluriformity of substrates open up launching brand new products that could have never existed before and realize bendable, rollable, wearable, or elastically stretchable devices.…”

Manufacturing Technology (MATES) II. Task Order 0006: Air Force Technology and Industrial Base Research Sub-Task 07: Future Advances in Electronic Materials and Processes-Flexible Hybrid Electronics

“…Additionally, researchers from Loughborough University in the United Kingdom recently published work in March 2015 regarding electrodes created through flexographic and offset lithography printing techniques. [411] These electrodes were then used to create printed rechargeable power sources. The electrodes printed with flexography resulted in a desirably higher capacitance as compared with the ones printed with offset lithography.…”

Lignin-Derived Carbon-Coated Functional Paper for Printed Electronics

“…Additive printing and coating processes eliminate the limitations associated with the traditional methods and are easily scalable. Advance green and simple fabricating techniques reduce toxic material consumption and enable substrates that have mechanical flexibility − to realize bendable, rollable, and stretchable electronic devices …”