Graphene/Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): Polystyrenesulfonate Hybrid Electrodes for All Solid-State Flexible Supercapacitors

Abstract

Recent developments in the field of flexible and wearable electronic devices necessitate wearable supercapacitor technologies to power them. Electrode nanostructuring is a viable strategy to prepare high performance supercapacitor electrodes. Carbon nanomaterials such as carbon nanotubes, carbon nanopetals, graphene, etc are invariably used as supercapacitor electrodes due to their salient features such as good electronic conductivity, low density, large surface area to volume ratio, good chemical and electrochemical stabilities, high capacitance, bendability, etc. Herein, we report the development of all-solid-state flexible supercapacitor using graphene (Gr)/poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrenesulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) hybrid electrodes. The Gr/PEDOT:PSS hybrid electrodes are prepared by electrochemical deposition followed by dip-coating procedures. The morphology and texture of the Gr/PEDOT:PSS hybrids are examined by scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The structure of the hybrids is determined by X-ray diffraction, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. The surface chemical analysis is performed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The Gr/PEDOT:PSS hybrid electrodes are tested by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic charge-discharge measurements. The all-solid-state Gr/PEDOT:PSS hybrid supercapacitor exhibits excellent electrochemical performance with high flexibility and is a potential candidate to integrate with textile fabrics for application in wearable electronic devices.