Developing sustainable fibre supercapacitors using 2D materials and natural biopolymers

柔性超级电容器具有重量轻、机械灵活性强、体积小、充放电速度快、比电容高和功率密度高等优点，是为柔性和可穿戴电子设备(柔性显示器、可折叠触摸屏、智能设备、植入式医疗设备和柔性传感器)提供动力的有前途的设备。然而，在降低生产成本和使用环保材料的同时，提高体积电容、能量密度、输出电压、机械变形下的电极性能仍然具有挑战性。传统的超级电容器设备的夹层设计也已经过时，需要用更有效的设计来取代，比如使用柔性纤维电极的交指电极。此外，柔性和可穿戴的电子产品注定要佩戴在皮肤上，强调安全是这类设备的关键因素。该项目旨在开发一种创新的制造策略，通过引入生物衍生材料纤维电极、电解液和分离器来生产可持续的纤维超级电容器。新兴的二维(2D)材料，如MXenes、硅氧烷、2D金属硼化物、硼烯和2D金属磷酸铵及其杂化材料，将被集成到生物聚合物中，以诱导导电性、机械韧性、电荷储存位和电化学性能。该提案将通过建立2D材料生物聚合物纤维电极的结构、组成、纤维加工和性能之间的联系，帮助弥合可持续纤维超级电容器的概念方法和机械方法之间的差距。该项目将生产具有高性能和高输出电压的新型可持续纤维超级电容器，同时保持机械灵活性。此外，通过开发可持续和绿色的纤维超级电容器，它将有助于欧盟/英国实现净零和能源可持续目标的竞争力。

Flexible supercapacitor are promising devices to power flexible and wearable electronics (flexible displays, foldable touch screens, smart gadgets, implantable medical devices, and flexible sensors) because of their lightweight, robust mechanical flexibility, small volume, fast charge/discharge rate, high specific capacitance, and power density. However, improving volumetric capacitance, energy density, output voltage, electrode performance under mechanical deformations while reducing the production cost and using eco-friendly materials remain challenging. The conventional sandwiched design of supercapacitor devices is also outdated and needs to be replaced by more effective designs such as interdigitated electrodes using flexible fibre electrodes. Additionally, flexible and wearable electronics are destined to be worn onto the skin, emphasising safety as a critical factor for such devices. This project aims to develop an innovative fabrication strategy for the production of sustainable fibre supercapacitors by introducing bio-derived material fibre electrodes, electrolytes, and separators. Emerging two-dimensional (2D) materials, such as MXenes, siloxene, 2D metal boride, borophene, and 2D ammonium metal phosphates, and their hybrids, will be integrated into biopolymers to induce electrical conductivity, mechanical toughness, charge storage sites, and electrochemical properties. The proposal will help to bridge the gap between conceptual and mechanistic approaches to sustainable fibre supercapacitors by establishing links between structures, compositions, fibre processing, and properties of 2D materials-based biopolymer fibre electrodes. This project will produce novel sustainable fibre supercapacitors with high performance and output voltage, while maintaining mechanical flexibility. Furthermore, it will contribute to the competitiveness of the EU/UK towards the net zero and energy sustainability target by developing sustainable and green fibre supercapacitors.