All-fabric flexible supercapacitor for energy storage

An all-fabric solid-state flexible supercapacitor has been fabricated using three types of commercial woven fabrics made of carbon fiber, activated carbon fiber, and polyester fiber, respectively. The activated carbon fiber fabric is viscose-based twill through carbonization and activation, followed by a deposition of CeO2 or ZnO nanoparticles through a hydrothermal process. The resultant fabric supercapacitor displays a high specific capacitance of 13.24 mF cm−2 at a scan rate of 0.2 mV s−1, an excellent capacitance retention of 87.6% at 5000 charge/discharge cycles, and a high energy density of 4.6 × 10−7 Wh cm−2 at a power density of 3.31 × 10−6 W cm−2. The supercapacitor is capable of bending in any angles without losing its performance, revealing an excellent flexibility. The facile, cost-effective fabrication process and excellent electrochemical performance allow this all-fabric solid-state flexible supercapacitor to be potentially used in new generation of wearable and self-powered electronic devices.