Investigation of charge contribution in Cu2O/Graphene/PEDOT: PSS electrode based 3D-Shaped electrochemical capacitors and development of structural energy storage
Jithin Kanathedath, Reshma Nair, Maria Prince, Vishnu Sam, Stuart Thomas, Mustehsan Beg, Libu Manjakkal
Abstract
Active electrode materials shaped in 3D structures play a crucial role in advancing structural energy storage technologies. We fabricated a 3D-shaped flexible electrochemical capacitor (3D-FEC) utilizing Cu 2 O/Graphene/PEDOT: PSS/Polyurethane foam, enhancing its suitability for structural energy storage. We examined the charge contribution of 2 and 3-electrode configurations during the reaction of these electrodes with NaCl to enhance the energy storage capability. The results showed similar outcomes between both electrode configurations, demonstrating a total charge contribution of 3.4 mC cm −3 at the scan rate of 5 mV s −1 comprising 91.52 % diffusive charge and 8.47 % capacitive charge. We observed a significantly higher diffusive charge contribution at lower scan rates compared to the capacitive charge contribution. The specific capacitance of the 3D-FEC measured from galvanostatic charging discharge analysis is 1.09 F cm −3 (1.17 F g −1 ) at 0.25 mA cm −2 with energy and power densities calculated at 0.25 mA cm −2 was 94.15 μW h cm −3 (0.102 Wh kg −1 ) and 0.985 mW cm −3 (1.06 W kg −1 ) respectively. The influence of external forces in the range of 0.4 N–1.3 N on the top of 3D-FEC leads to negligible variation in performance and it shows its potential application in structural devices. To implement a structural capacitor, several 3D-FECs were affixed to a cloth and combined with a solar cell, forming an energy mat.