Cation–π Hydrogel Electrolyte for Flexible All‐Solid‐State Supercapacitors with Excellent Mechanical Deformation and Low‐Temperature Tolerance
Flexible supercapacitors are promising power sources for new-generation wearable electronics. However, their electrochemical performance often deteriorates under mechanical deformation and low-temperature environments. Here, a flexible supercapacitor is developed by sandwiching a hydrogel electrolyte between two electrodes. To address performance challenges, cation-π crosslinking sites are incorporated into the hydrogel network. These dynamic crosslinking sites act as efficient ion-hopping centers, imparting the hydrogel electrolyte with high fracture strength (1.8 MPa), strong ionic conductivity (3.9 S m<sup>-1</sup>), and excellent anti-freezing properties. Furthermore, the hydrogel forms cation-π interactions with carbon nanotube-based composite electrodes, facilitated by the reaction between the indole groups and Na<sup>+</sup> in the electrodes. This strong interfacial bonding minimizes electrode-electrolyte displacement during deformation, reducing interfacial resistance and enhancing charge transport efficiency. As a result, the cation-π hydrogel electrolyte enables the supercapacitor to achieve high energy storage, outstanding mechanical deformation tolerance, and robust performance at low temperatures. The device maintains 89.8% of its initial capacitance after 5000 bending cycles and retains 70.9% capacitance at -40 °C-significantly surpassing previously reported methods. This work presents an innovative strategy for designing high-performance hydrogel electrolytes for advanced energy storage systems.
Authors
- Jinming Xue
- Min Dang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5588-3574)
- Yuyuan Lu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4073-678X)
- Chenbei Wang
- Samuel M. Mugo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0015-1947)
- Qiang Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0722-6005)
- Hongda Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4266-9012)
- Yizhou Zhao
Institutions
- University of Science and Technology of China (CN)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry (CN)
- Jilin Province Science and Technology Department (CN)
- State Key Laboratory of Polymer Physics and Chemistry (CN)
- MacEwan University (CA)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Advanced Science
- Published
- 2025-10-24
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/advs.202509905
- Primary Topic
- Supercapacitor Materials and Fabrication
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Chinese Academy of Sciences
- People's Government of Jilin Province