Proof of concept of flexible supercapacitors fabricated with carbon gels and MnO2 printed on carbon cloth

Up to now, the scientific community has achieved a significant progress in designing innovative, flexible and conductive materials, paving the way for the advancement of cutting-edge electronic devices dedicated for smart wearable applications. Herein, the introduction of carbon cloth (CC)-based platform for energy storage devices was adopted for nanomaterial coating and improved multilayer adhesion. Using carbon xerogel (CX) and manganese dioxide (MnO 2 ) printed on CC, an asymmetric supercapacitor was developed, achieving a high specific capacitance of 213 F g −1 , energy density of 24 Wh·kg −1 , at a power density of 180 W kg −1 , and low self-discharge rate with a voltage retention of 72 % after 22 h. This work paves the way for the adoption of carbon cloth thanks to its outstanding features as a promising and flexible platform to drive the development of next-generation smart and wearable electronic devices dedicated for healthcare and environmental monitoring applications. • Carbon xerogel was synthesized via a cost-effective and straightforward method. • MnO 2 as a highly promising material for next-generation pseudocapacitor electrodes. • Carbon xerogel/MnO 2 based flexible electrodes were printed on carbon cloth substrate. • Post-mortem analysis on fresh and aged electrodes proves no degradation after lifetime. • Proof-of-concepts based on flexible electrodes with excellent features were fabricated.