A Self‐Standing High‐Performance Hydrogen Evolution Electrode with Nanostructured NiCo2O4/CuS Heterostructures

An efficient self‐standing 3D hydrogen evolution cathode has been developed by coating nickel cobaltite (NiCo₂O₄)/CuS nanowire heterostructures on a carbon fiber paper (CFP). The obtained CFP/NiCo₂O₄/CuS electrode shows exceptional hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) performance and excellent durability in acidic conditions. Remarkably, as an integrated 3D hydrogen‐evolving cathode operating in acidic electrolytes, CFP/NiCo₂O₄/CuS maintains its activity more than 50 h and exhibits an onset overpotential of 31.1 mV, an exchange current density of 0.246 mA cm^?2, and a Tafel slope of 41 mV dec^?1. Compared to other non‐Pt electrocatalysts reported to date, CFP/NiCo₂O₄/CuS exhibits the highest HER activity and can be used in HER to produce H₂ with nearly quantitative faradaic yield in acidic aqueous media with stable activity. Furthermore, by using CFP/NiCo₂O₄/CuS as a self‐standing electrode in a water electrolyzer, a current density of 18 mA cm^?2 can be achieved at a voltage of 1.5 V which can be driven by a single‐cell battery. This strategy provides an effective, durable, and non‐Pt electrode for water splitting and hydrogen generation.     

Ultralight and Binder‐Free All‐Solid‐State Flexible Supercapacitors for Powering Wearable Strain Sensors

Flexible energy storage devices play a pivotal role in realizing the full potential of flexible electronics. This work presents high‐performance, all‐solid‐state, flexible supercapacitors by employing an innovative multilevel porous graphite foam (MPG). MPGs exhibit superior properties, such as large specific surface area, high electric conductivity, low mass density, high loading efficiency of pseudocapacitive materials, and controlled corrugations for accommodating mechanical strains. When loaded with pseudocapacitive manganese oxide (Mn₃O₄), the MPG/Mn₃O₄ (MPGM) composites achieve a specific capacitance of 538 F g^?1 (1 mV s^?1) and 260 F g^?1 (1 mV s^?1) based on the mass of pure Mn₃O₄ and entire electrode composite, respectively. Both are among the best of Mn₃O₄‐based supercapacitors. The MPGM is mechanically robust and can go through 1000 mechanical bending cycles with only 1.5% change in electric resistance. When integrated as all‐solid‐state symmetric supercapacitors, they offer a full cell specific capacitance as high as 53 F g^?1 based on the entire electrode and retain 80% of capacitance after 1000 continuous mechanical bending cycles. Furthermore, the all‐solid‐state flexible supercapacitors are incorporated with strain sensors into self‐powered flexible devices for detection of both coarse and fine motions on human skins, i.e., those from finger bending and heart beating.     

High Electroactive Material Loading on a Carbon Nanotube@3D Graphene Aerogel for High‐Performance Flexible All‐Solid‐State Asymmetric Supercapacitors

Freestanding carbon‐based hybrids, specifically carbon nanotube@3D graphene (CNTs@3DG) hybrid, are of great interest in electrochemical energy storage. However, the large holes (about 400 µm) in the commonly used 3D graphene foams (3DGF) constitute as high as 90% of the electrode volume, resulting in a very low loading of electroactive materials that is electrically connected to the carbon, which makes it difficult for flexible supercapacitors to achieve high gravimetric and volumetric energy density. Here, a hierarchically porous carbon hybrid is fabricated by growing 1D CNTs on 3D graphene aerogel (CNTs@3DGA) using a facile one‐step chemical vapor deposition process. In this architecture, the 3DGA with ample interconnected micrometer‐sized pores (about 5 µm) dramatically enhances mass loading of electroactive materials comparing with 3DGF. An optimized all‐solid‐state asymmetric supercapacitor (AASC) based on MnO₂@CNTs@3DGA and Ppy@CNTs@3DGA electrodes exhibits high volumetric energy density of 3.85 mW h cm^?3 and superior long‐term cycle stability with 84.6% retention after 20 000 cycles, which are among the best reported for AASCs with both electrodes made of pseudocapacitive electroactive materials.     

Self‐Powered Electronics by Integration of Flexible Solid‐State Graphene‐Based Supercapacitors with High Performance Perovskite Hybrid Solar Cells

To develop high‐capacitance flexible solid‐state supercapacitors and explore its application in self‐powered electronics is one of ongoing research topics. In this study, self‐stacked solvated graphene (SSG) films are reported that have been prepared by a facile vacuum filtration method as the free‐standing electrode for flexible solid‐state supercapacitors. The highly hydrated SSG films have low mass loading, high flexibility, and high electrical conductivity. The flexible solid‐state supercapacitors based on SSG films exhibit excellent capacitive characteristics with a high gravimetric specific capacitance of 245 F g^?1 and good cycling stability of 10 000 cycles. Furthermore, the flexible solid‐state supercapacitors are integrated with high performance perovskite hybrid solar cells (pero‐HSCs) to build self‐powered electronics. It is found that the solid‐state supercapacitors can be charged by pero‐HSCs and discharged from 0.75 V. These results demonstrate that the self‐powered electronics by integration of the flexible solid‐state supercapacitors with pero‐HSCs have great potential applications in storage of solar energy and in flexible electronics, such as portable and wearable personal devices.     

Mesoporous NiCo2O4 Nanowire Arrays Grown on Carbon Textiles as Binder‐Free Flexible Electrodes for Energy Storage

Binary metal oxides has been regarded as a promising class of electrode materials for high‐performance energy storage devices since it offers higher electrochemical activity and higher capacity than mono‐metal oxide. Besides, rational design of electrode architectures is an effective solution to further enhance electrochemical performance of energy storage devices. Here, the advanced electrode architectures consisting of carbon textiles uniformally covered by mesoporous NiCo₂O₄ nanowire arrays (NWAs) are successfully fabricated by a simple surfactant‐assisted hydrothermal method combined with a short post annealing treatment, which can be directly applied as self‐supported electrodes for energy storage devices, such as Li‐ion batteries, supercapacitors. The as‐prepared mesoporous NiCo₂O₄ nanowires consist of numerous highly crystalline nanoparticles, leaving a large number of mesopores to alleviate the volume change during the charge/discharge process. Electrode architectures presented here promise fast electron transport by direct connection to the growth substrate and facile ion diffusion path provided by both the abundant mesoporous structure in nanowires and large open spaces between neighboring nanowires, which ensures every nanowire participates in the ultrafast electrochemical reaction. Benefiting from the intrinsic materials and architectures features, the unique binder‐free NiCo₂O₄/carbon textiles exhibit high specific capacity/capacitance, excellent rate capability, and cycling stability.     

Controlled Incorporation of Ni(OH)2 Nanoplates Into Flowerlike MoS2 Nanosheets for Flexible All‐Solid‐State Supercapacitors

In this work, self‐supporting three‐dimensional hierarchical nanostructured MoS₂@Ni(OH)₂ nanocomposites are synthesized via a facile single‐mode microwave hydrothermal technique. The fabricated MoS₂@Ni(OH)₂ nanocomposites for supercapacitors in aqueous electrolyte exhibit higher specific capacitance and better cyclic stability than those of MoS₂ and Ni(OH)₂ due to the pronounced synergistic effect between MoS₂ and Ni(OH)₂. Further, the flexible all‐solid‐state supercapcitor is readily constructed by composing the PVA/KOH gel electrolyte in between two MoS₂@Ni(OH)₂ electrodes on the flexible PET substrates. The resulting supercapacitors can operate at high rate up to 1000 V/s, have excellent long‐life cycling stability, retaining 94.2% of the initial capacitance after 9000 cycles, and mechanical flexibility during extreme bending, respectively. Thereby, the MoS₂@Ni(OH)₂ nanocomposites are a promising electrode materials for flexible long‐life cycling all‐solid‐sate supercapacitors.     

Oxygen‐Deficient Bismuth Oxide/Graphene of Ultrahigh Capacitance as Advanced Flexible Anode for Asymmetric Supercapacitors

Oxygen‐deficient bismuth oxide (r‐Bi₂O₃)/graphene (GN) is designed, fabricated, and demonstrated via a facile solvothermal and subsequent solution reduction method. The ultrafine network bacterial cellulose (BC) as substrate for r‐Bi₂O₃/GN exhibits high flexibility, remarkable tensile strength (55.1 MPa), and large mass loading of 9.8 mg cm^?2. The flexible r‐Bi₂O₃/GN/BC anode delivers appreciable areal capacitance (6675 mF cm^?2 at 1 mA cm^?2) coupled with good rate capability (3750 mF cm^?2 at 50 mA cm^?2). In addition, oxygen vacancies have great influence on the capacitive performance of Bi₂O₃, delivering significantly improved capacitive values than the untreated Bi₂O₃ flexible electrode, and ultrahigh gravimetric capacitance of 1137 F g^?1 (based on the mass of r‐Bi₂O₃) can be obtained, achieving 83% of the theoretical value (1370 F g^?1). Flexible asymmetric supercapacitor is fabricated with r‐Bi₂O₃/GN/BC and Co₃O₄/GN/BC paper as the negative and positive electrodes, respectively. The operation voltage is expanded to 1.6 V, revealing a maximum areal energy density of 0.449 mWh cm^?2 (7.74 mWh cm^?3) and an areal power density of 40 mW cm^?2 (690 mW cm^?3). Therefore, this flexible anode with excellent electrochemical performance and high mechanical properties shows great potential in the field of flexible energy storage devices.     

General Method for Large‐Area Films of Carbon Nanomaterials and Application of a Self‐Assembled Carbon Nanotube Film as a High‐Performance Electrode Material for an All‐Solid‐State Supercapacitor

Rational assembly of carbon nanostructures into large‐area films is a key step to realize their applications in ubiquitous electronics and energy devices. Here, a self‐assembly methodology is devised to organize diverse carbon nanostructures (nanotubes, dots, microspheres, etc.) into homogeneous films with potentially infinite lateral dimensions. On the basis of studies of the redox reactions in the systems and the structures of films, the spontaneous deposition of carbon nanostructures onto the surface of the copper substrate is found to be driven by the electrical double layer between copper and solution. As a notable example, the as‐assembled multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) films display exceptional properties. They are a promising material for flexible electronics with superior electrical and mechanical compliance characteristics. Finally, two kinds of all‐solid‐state supercapacitors based on the self‐assembled MWCNT films are fabricated. The supercapacitor using carbon cloth as the current collector delivers an energy density of 3.5 Wh kg^?1 and a power density of 28.1 kW kg^?1, which are comparable with the state‐of‐the‐art supercapacitors fabricated by the costly single‐walled carbon nanotubes and arrays. The supercapacitor free of foreign current collector is ultrathin and shows impressive volumetric energy density (0.58 mWh cm^?3) and power density (0.39 W cm^?3) too.     

Microporosity‐Controlled Synthesis of Heteroatom Codoped Carbon Nanocages by Wrap‐Bake‐Sublime Approach for Flexible All‐Solid‐State‐Supercapacitors

Heteroatom‐doped carbon nanomaterials with high surface area and tunable microporosity are important but they generally require difficult and multistep syntheses. Herein, a simple and straightforward strategy is introduced that involves a wrap‐bake‐sublime approach to synthesize microporosity controlled and heteroatom codoped carbon nanocages. A zinc‐containing zeolitic imidazolate framework (ZIF‐8) core is wrapped in a cross‐linked oligomer containing nitrogen and phosphorus, oligo(cyclotriphosphazene‐co‐hexahydroxytriphenylene) (OCHT). As‐synthesized core–shell ZIF‐8‐OCHT nanoparticles are baked at high temperatures to sublimate zinc through OCHT shell, resulting in a porous structure. Meanwhile, hollow cavities are introduced into N,P codoped carbon nanocages (NPCNs) via the sacrificial nature of ZIF‐8 template. The microporosity is finely tuned by controlling thickness of the OCHT shell during synthesis of the core–shell nanoparticles, since the sublimation tendency of zinc component at high temperatures depends on the thickness of OCHT shell. A systematic correlation between the electrochemical performance of NPCNs and their microporosity is confirmed. Furthermore, the electrochemical performance of the NPCNs is related to the degree of heteroatom codoping. The approach is successfully scaled‐up without compromising their electrochemical performance. Finally, a symmetric and flexible all‐solid‐state‐supercapacitor with high energy and power density, and a long‐term cycleability is demonstrated (75% capacitance retention after 20 000 cycles).     

High‐Performance Ultrathin Flexible Solid‐State Supercapacitors Based on Solution Processable Mo1.33C MXene and PEDOT:PSS

MXenes, a young family of 2D transition metal carbides/nitrides, show great potential in electrochemical energy storage applications. Herein, a high performance ultrathin flexible solid‐state supercapacitor is demonstrated based on a Mo_1.33C MXene with vacancy ordering in an aligned layer structure MXene/poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonic acid) (PEDOT:PSS) composite film posttreated with concentrated H₂SO₄. The flexible solid‐state supercapacitor delivers a maximum capacitance of 568 F cm^?3, an ultrahigh energy density of 33.2 mWh cm^?3 and a power density of 19 470 mW cm^?3. The Mo_1.33C MXene/PEDOT:PSS composite film shows a reduction in resistance upon H₂SO₄ treatment, a higher capacitance (1310 F cm^?3) and improved rate capabilities than both pristine Mo_1.33C MXene and the nontreated Mo_1.33C/PEDOT:PSS composite films. The enhanced capacitance and stability are attributed to the synergistic effect of increased interlayer spacing between Mo_1.33C MXene layers due to insertion of conductive PEDOT, and surface redox processes of the PEDOT and the MXene.     

Flexible Solid‐State Supercapacitors with Enhanced Performance from Hierarchically Graphene Nanocomposite Electrodes and Ionic Liquid Incorporated Gel Polymer Electrolyte

High energy density, durability, and flexibility of supercapacitors are required urgently for the next generation of wearable and portable electronic devices. Herein, a novel strategy is introduced to boost the energy density of flexible soild‐state supercapacitors via rational design of hierarchically graphene nanocomposite (GNC) electrode material and employing an ionic liquid gel polymer electrolyte. The hierarchical graphene nanocomposite consisting of graphene and polyaniline‐derived carbon is synthesized as an electrode material via a scalable process. The meso/microporous graphene nanocomposites exhibit a high specific capacitance of 176 F g^?1 at 0.5 A g^?1 in the ionic liquid 1‐ethyl‐3‐methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (EMIBF₄) with a wide voltage window of 3.5 V, good rate capability of 80.7% in the range of 0.5–10 A g^?1 and excellent stability over 10 000 cycles, which is attributed to the superior conductivity (7246 S m^?1), and quite large specific surface area (2416 m² g^?1) as well as hierarchical meso/micropores distribution of the electrode materials. Furthermore, flexible solid‐state supercapacitor devices based on the GNC electrodes and gel polymer electrolyte film are assembled, which offer high specific capacitance of 180 F g^?1 at 1 A g^?1, large energy density of 75 Wh Kg^?1, and remarkable flexible performance under consecutive bending conditions.     

Self‐Standing Porous LiCoO2 Nanosheet Arrays as 3D Cathodes for Flexible Li‐Ion Batteries

Self‐standing electrodes are the key to realize flexible Li‐ion batteries. However, fabrication of self‐standing cathodes is still a major challenge. In this work, porous LiCoO₂ nanosheet arrays are grown on Au‐coated stainless steel (Au/SS) substrates via a facile “hydrothermal lithiation” method using Co₃O₄ nanosheet arrays as the template followed by quick annealing in air. The binder‐free and self‐standing LiCoO₂ nanosheet arrays represent the 3D cathode and exhibit superior rate capability and cycling stability. In specific, the LiCoO₂ nanosheet array electrode can deliver a high reversible capacity of 104.6 mA h g^?1 at 10 C rate and achieve a capacity retention of 81.8% at 0.1 C rate after 1000 cycles. By coupling with Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ nanosheet arrays as anode, an all‐nanosheet array based LiCoO₂//Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ flexible Li‐ion battery is constructed. Benefiting from the 3D nanoarchitectures for both cathode and anode, the flexible LiCoO₂//Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ battery can deliver large specific reversible capacities of 130.7 mA h g^?1 at 0.1 C rate and 85.3 mA h g^?1 at 10 C rate (based on the weight of cathode material). The full cell device also exhibits good cycling stability with 80.5% capacity retention after 1000 cycles at 0.1 C rate, making it promising for the application in flexible Li‐ion batteries.     

Self‐Assembly of Flexible Free‐Standing 3D Porous MoS2‐Reduced Graphene Oxide Structure for High‐Performance Lithium‐Ion Batteries

Flexible freestanding electrodes are highly desired to realize wearable/flexible batteries as required for the design and production of flexible electronic devices. Here, the excellent electrochemical performance and inherent flexibility of atomically thin 2D MoS₂ along with the self‐assembly properties of liquid crystalline graphene oxide (LCGO) dispersion are exploited to fabricate a porous anode for high‐performance lithium ion batteries. Flexible, free‐standing MoS₂–reduced graphene oxide (MG) film with a 3D porous structure is fabricated via a facile spontaneous self‐assembly process and subsequent freeze‐drying. This is the first report of a one‐pot self‐assembly, gelation, and subsequent reduction of MoS₂/LCGO composite to form a flexible, high performance electrode for charge storage. The gelation process occurs directly in the mixed dispersion of MoS₂ and LCGO nanosheets at a low temperature (70 °C) and normal atmosphere (1 atm). The MG film with 75 wt% of MoS₂ exhibits a high reversible capacity of 800 mAh g^?1 at a current density of 100 mA g^?1. It also demonstrates excellent rate capability, and excellent cycling stability with no capacity drop over 500 charge/discharge cycles at a current density of 400 mA g^?1.     

A Self‐Standing and Flexible Electrode of Li4Ti5O12 Nanosheets with a N‐Doped Carbon Coating for High Rate Lithium Ion Batteries

Flexible energy‐storage devices have attracted growing attention with the fast development of bendable electronic systems. Thus, the search for reliable electrodes with both high mechanical flexibility and excellent electron and lithium‐ion conductivity has become an urgent task. Carbon‐coated nanostructures of Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ (LTO) have important applications in high‐performance lithium ion batteries (LIBs). However, these materials still need to be mixed with a binder and carbon black and pressed onto metal substrates or, alternatively, by be deposited onto a conductive substrate before they are assembled into batteries, which makes the batteries less flexible and have a low energy density. Herein, a simple and scalable process to fabricate LTO nanosheets with a N‐doped carbon coating is reported. This can be assembled into a film which can be used as a binder‐free and flexible electrode for LIBs that does not require any current collectors. Such a flexible electrode has a long life. More significantly, it exhibits an excellent rate capability due to the thin carbon coating and porous nanosheet structures, which produces a highly conductive pathway for electrons and fast transport channels for lithium ions.     

Rationally Engineered Electrodes for a High‐Performance Solid‐State Cable‐Type Supercapacitor

Wire‐shaped electrodes for solid‐state cable‐type supercapacitors (SSCTS) with high device capacitance and ultrahigh rate capability are prepared by depositing poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene) onto self‐doped TiO₂ nanotubes (D‐TiO₂) aligned on Ti wire via a well‐controlled electrochemical process. The large surface area, short ion diffusion path, and high electrical conductivity of these rationally engineered electrodes all contribute to the energy storage performance of SSCTS. The cyclic voltammetric studies show the good energy storage ability of the SSCTS even at an ultrahigh scan rate of 1000 V s^?1, which reveals the excellent instantaneous power characteristics of the device. The capacitance of 1.1 V SSCTS obtained from the charge–discharge measurements is 208.36 µF cm^?1 at a discharge current of 100 µA cm^?1 and 152.36 µF cm^?1 at a discharge current of 2000 µA cm^?1, respectively, indicating the ultrahigh rate capability. Furthermore, the SSCTS shows superior cyclic stability during long‐term (20 000 cycles) cycling, and also maintains excellent performance when it is subjected to bending and succeeding straightening process.     

Fe2O3 Nanoneedles on Ultrafine Nickel Nanotube Arrays as Efficient Anode for High‐Performance Asymmetric Supercapacitors

High performance of electrochemical energy storage devices depends on the smart structure engineering of electrodes, including the tailored nanoarchitectures of current collectors and subtle hybridization of active materials. To improve the anode supercapacitive performance of Fe₂O₃ for high‐voltage asymmetric supercapacitors, here, a hybrid core‐branch nanoarchitecture is proposed by integrating Fe₂O₃ nanoneedles on ultrafine Ni nanotube arrays (NiNTAs@Fe₂O₃ nanoneedles). The fabrication process employs a bottom‐up strategy via a modified template‐assisted method starting from ultrafine ZnO nanorod arrays, ensuring the formation of ultrafine Ni nanotube arrays with ultrathin tube walls. The novel developed NiNTAs@Fe₂O₃ nanoneedle electrode is demonstrated to be a highly capacitive anode (418.7 F g^?1 at 10 mV s^?1), matching well with the similarly built NiNTAs@MnO₂ nanosheet cathode. Contributed by the efficient electron collection paths and short ion diffusion paths in the uniquely designed anode and cathode, the asymmetric supercapacitors exhibit an excellent maximum energy density of 34.1 Wh kg^?1 at the power density of 3197.7 W kg^?1 in aqueous electrolyte and 32.2 Wh kg^?1 at the power density of 3199.5 W kg^?1 in quasi‐solid‐state gel electrolyte.     

Mechanical Strain‐Tunable Microwave Magnetism in Flexible CuFe2O4 Epitaxial Thin Film for Wearable Sensors

Purely mechanical strain‐tunable microwave magnetism device with lightweight, flexible, and wearable is crucial for passive sensing systems and spintronic devices (noncontact), such as flexible microwave detectors, flexible microwave signal processing devices, and wearable mechanics‐magnetic sensors. Here, a flexible microwave magnetic CuFe₂O₄ (CuFO) epitaxial thin film with tunable ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) spectra is demonstrated by purely mechanical strains, including tensile and compressive strains, on flexible fluorophlogopite (Mica) substrates. Tensile and compressive strains show remarkable tuning effects of up‐regulation and down‐regulation on in‐plane FMR resonance field (H_r), which can be used for flexible tunable resonators and filters. The out‐of‐plane FMR spectra can also be tuned by mechanical bending, including H_r and absorption peak. The change of out‐of‐plane FMR spectra has great potential for flexible mechanics‐magnetic deformation sensors. Furthermore, a superior microwave magnetic stability and mechanical antifatigue character are obtained in the CuFO/Mica thin films. These flexible epitaxial CuFO thin films with tunable microwave magnetism and excellent mechanical durability are promising for the applications in flexible spintronics, microwave detectors, and oscillators.