Fabrication Technologies of Flexible Transparent Electrodes for Supercapacitors: Recent Advances and Perspectives

Abstract

Flexible transparent portable electronic products provide substantial support for the rapid development of the intelligent era. Flexible transparent supercapacitors (FTSCs) are considered the most promising energy storage devices due to their exceptional electrochemical performance, outstanding mechanical flexibility, and high optical transmittance. However, it is difficult to balance their mechanical flexibility and optical transmittance. The key to reconciling the contradiction is to fabricate flexible transparent conductive electrodes (FTCEs) with excellent mechanical flexibility and optical transmittance by combining the characteristics of manufacturing technologies and electrode materials. In this review, the characteristics of advanced FTCEs manufacturing technologies and their applications in FTSCs are systematically summarized. First, the device structure, working mechanism, and basic performance of FTSCs are briefly introduced. Second, the manufacturing characteristic and principle of different FTCEs preparation technologies are mainly described, including vacuum filtration, coating, deposition, printing, and layer‐by‐layer assembly. Next, the device structure and design principle of multifunctional FTSCs are demonstrated in detail. Finally, the challenges and prospects of applying FTCEs manufacturing technology to construct FTSCs are proposed.

Sputtering Deposition of a Binder-Free V2O5/ZnO Thin Film for Transparent Supercapacitor Applications

“…Transparent supercapacitor devices have been distinguished based on their structural configurations as sandwich-like, interdigital, irregular mesh, and orderly pattern; among these, the sandwich-like type has received more attention because of its feasible structural advantages and as it can be implemented widely in real-time application. 10,11 So far, many electrode materials have been extensively explored and their optical-electrochemical properties have been studied for transparent supercapacitor applications. Especially, Zhong et al 12 studied a fewgraphene-layer armored Ag nanowire/poly(ethylene terephthalalte) (PET) as a flexible thin film for transparent supercapacitor application.…”

“…To power up transparent electronic components, we need high sustainable transparent energy storage devices; particularly, transparent supercapacitors have received greater attention than other storage devices because of their high power density with reasonable energy density, long cycle life, eco-benign, and numerous device configurations. − Nevertheless, for the fabrication of prototype transparent supercapacitor devices, we need to discover new transparent materials that could conduct electricity and at the same time store huge electric charges at the electrode surface without compromising their thickness and transparency. Transparent supercapacitor devices have been distinguished based on their structural configurations as sandwich-like, interdigital, irregular mesh, and orderly pattern; among these, the sandwich-like type has received more attention because of its feasible structural advantages and as it can be implemented widely in real-time application. , So far, many electrode materials have been extensively explored and their optical-electrochemical properties have been studied for transparent supercapacitor applications. Especially, Zhong et al studied a few-graphene-layer armored Ag nanowire/poly­(ethylene terephthalalte) (PET) as a flexible thin film for transparent supercapacitor application.…”