Carbon Cloth-Based Hybrid Supercapacitors: Recent Progress and Performance Enhancement Strategies

The desire to employ wearable electronics and smart textiles has been driving researchers to design flexible devices for energy conversion and storage. Carbon cloth has been recommended as an electrode skeleton because of its flexibility, chemical stability, safety, environmental friendliness, affordability, excellent electrical conductivity, and high mechanical strength. This review sheds light on recent advances and challenges in CC-based hybrid electrodes for supercapacitors. Four general strategies have proven efficacious in augmenting the electrochemical performance. Firstly, treatment of the CC surface via chemical, thermal, or electrochemical activation processes aims to introduce pores and oxygen functional groups that increase specific surface area and wettability. Secondly, the combination of transition metal compounds, conductive polymers, and carbon forms on hybrid electrodes utilizes both charge storage mechanisms of EDLC and pseudocapacitors. Thirdly, optimization of synthesis parameters is a prime practice to obtain favorable morphology and crystallinity. Fourthly, the integration of current collectors, electrodes, and electrolytes by conformal coating of active materials on carbon microfibers preserves the 3D nature of the cloth. Last but not least, analysis of cycling stability receives a great deal of attention with regard to practical considerations. By following these strategies, CC-based hybrid supercapacitors hit the apex of their performance, scoring colossal specific capacitances, energy and power densities, and stability.