Suvi Lehtimäki

Preparation of Supercapacitors on Flexible Substrates with Electrodeposited PEDOT/Graphene Composites

Composite films consisting of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) and graphene oxide (GO) were electrochemically polymerized by electrooxidation of EDOT in ionic liquid (BMIMBF4) onto flexible electrode substrates. Two polymerization approaches were compared, and the cyclic voltammetry (CV) method was found to be superior to potentiostatic polymerization for the growth of PEDOT/GO films. After deposition, incorporated GO was reduced to rGO by a rapid electrochemical method of repetitive cathodic potential cycling, without using any reducing reagents. The films were characterized in 3-electrode configuration in BMIMBF4. Symmetric supercapacitors with aqueous electrolyte were assembled from the composite films and characterized through cyclic voltammetry and galvanostatic discharge tests. It was shown that PEDOT/rGO composites have better capacitive properties than pure PEDOT or the unreduced composite film. The cycling stability of the supercapacitors was also tested, and the results indicate that the specific capacitance still retains well over 90% of the initial value after 2000 consecutive charging/discharging cycles. The supercapacitors were demonstrated as energy storages in a room light energy harvester with a printed organic solar cell and printed electrochromic display. The results are promising for the development of energy-autonomous, low-power, and disposable electronics.

Flexible Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting Circuit With Printable Supercapacitor and Diodes

We report a flexible energy harvesting circuit fabricated by roll-to-roll compatible, solution-processable methods. The circuit incorporates a supercapacitor fabricated from a viscous carbon nanotube dispersion, printed Schottky diodes, and a piezoelectric element. Used low-temperature materials enabled component integration on poly(ethylene terephthalate) substrate. The supercapacitor was built with a paper separator and an aqueous NaCl electrolyte. Together with carbon-based electrodes, these materials translated into a disposable and environmentally safe electronic device. The energy harvested from mechanical movement was used to drive a commercial electrochromic display.

Pigment-cellulose nanofibril composite and its application as a separator-substrate in printed supercapacitors

Pigment-cellulose nanofibril (PCN) composites were manufactured in a pilot line and used as a separator-substrate in printed graphene and carbon nanotube supercapacitors. The composites consisted typically of 80% pigment and 20% cellulose nanofibrils (CNF). This composition makes them a cost-effective alternative as a substrate for printed electronics at high temperatures that only very special plastic films can nowadays stand. The properties of these substrates can be varied within a relatively large range by the selection of raw materials and their relative proportions. A semi-industrial scale pilot line was successfully used to produce smooth, flexible, and nanoporous composites, and their performance was tested in a double functional separator-substrate element in supercapacitors. The nanostructural carbon films printed on the composite worked simultaneously as high surface area active electrodes and current collectors. Low-cost supercapacitors made from environmentally friendly materials have significant potential for use in flexible, wearable, and disposable low-end products.

Directed electron transfer in Langmuir–Schäfer layers of porphyrin–fullerene and phthalocyanine–fullerene dyads in inverted organic solar cells

In this study double linked porphyrin-fullerene and phthalocyanine-fullerene dyads and a single linked phthalocyanine-fullerene dyad were studied as components in inverted organic solar cells (OSCs) equipped with the well known P3HT:PCBM bulk heterojunction as the photoactive layer. The dyad monolayers were deposited onto a surface of P3HT:PCBM by using the Langmuir-Schäfer method, therefore forming oriented monolayers in which the electron donor (D) and the acceptor (A) exist as a close proximity pair in a 1:1 molar ratio. As a result of this structure short circuit current density (J(sc)), open circuit voltage (V(oc)), and power conversion efficiency (η) increased, while the fill factor (FF) remained the same. The devices which contained dyads with double linkage produced higher efficiencies than the one with a single linked dyad. This result can be explained in terms of molecular orientation. It was also verified that the prepared OSC devices have promising long term air stability.

Behaviour of one-step spray-coated carbon nanotube supercapacitor in ambient light harvester circuit with printed organic solar cell and electrochromic display

A printed energy harvesting and storage circuit powered by ambient office lighting and its use to power a printed display is reported. The autonomous device is composed of three printed electronic components: an organic photovoltaic module, a carbon-nanotubes-only supercapacitor and an electrochromic display element. Components are fabricated from safe and environmentally friendly materials, and have been fabricated using solution processing methods, which translate into low-cost and high-throughput manufacturing. A supercapacitor made of spray-coated carbon nanotube based ink and aqueous NaCl electrolyte was charged using a printed organic photovoltaic module exposed to office lighting conditions. The supercapacitor charging rate, self-discharge rate and display operation were studied in detail. The supercapacitor self-discharge rate was found to depend on the charging rate. The fully charged supercapacitor was used as a power source to run the electrochromic display over 50 times.

Performance, stability and operation voltage optimization of screen-printed aqueous supercapacitors

Harvesting micropower energy from the ambient environment requires an intermediate energy storage, for which printed aqueous supercapacitors are well suited due to their low cost and environmental friendliness. In this work, a systematic study of a large set of devices is used to investigate the effect of process variability and operating voltage on the performance and stability of screen printed aqueous supercapacitors. The current collectors and active layers are printed with graphite and activated carbon inks, respectively, and aqueous NaCl used as the electrolyte. The devices are characterized through galvanostatic discharge measurements for quantitative determination of capacitance and equivalent series resistance (ESR), as well as impedance spectroscopy for a detailed study of the factors contributing to ESR. The capacitances are 200–360 mF and the ESRs 7.9–12.7 Ω, depending on the layer thicknesses. The ESR is found to be dominated by the resistance of the graphite current collectors and is compatible with applications in low-power distributed electronics. The effects of different operating voltages on the capacitance, leakage and aging rate of the supercapacitors are tested, and 1.0 V found to be the optimal choice for using the devices in energy harvesting applications.

Architectural modifications for flexible supercapacitor performance optimization

We have developed material and architectural alternatives for flexible supercapacitors and investigated their effect on practical performance. The substrate alternatives include paperboard as well as various polyethylene terephthalate (PET) films and laminates, with aqueous NaCl electrolyte used in all devices. In all the supercapacitors, activated carbon is used as the active layer and graphite ink as the current collector, with various aluminium or copper structures applied to enhance the current collectors’ conductivity. The capacitance of the supercapacitors was between 0.05 F and 0.58 F and their equivalent series resistance (ESR) was from <1 Ω to 14 Ω, depending mainly on the current collector structure. Furthermore, leakage current and selfdischarge rates were defined and compared for the various architectures. The barrier properties of the supercapacitor encapsulation have a clear correlation with leakage current, as was clearly shown by the lower leakage in devices with an aluminium barrier layer. A cycle life test showed that after 40000 charge-discharge cycles the capacitance decreases by less than 10%.

Printable and disposable supercapacitor from nanocellulose and carbon nanotubes

Supercapacitors are promising energy storage devices providing capacitance much higher than conventional capacitors and higher power density and longer cycle life than Li-batteries. We report printable and disposable supercapacitors fabricated from solution-processed carbon nanotube (CNT) composite material as active electrodes and nanocellulose (NC) as a separator. Use of a highly porous and electrically conducting CNT film as electrode materials eliminates the need of current collector. NC is a robust separator material used instead of conventional polymer separator films. Supercapacitor characterization was done with a galvanostatic discharge method according to an industrial standard. The capacitance of 1.8 cm2 devices was 14.9-16.5 mF (7.4-9.1 mF/cm2 or 2.4-2.9 F/g) and equivalent series resistance (ESR) 74-155 Ω. This type of low-cost energy storage devices fabricated from safe and environmentally friendly materials have obvious applications in autonomous intelligence and disposable low-end products.