The fabrication of flexible wearable electrodes based on a carbon nanotubes/nickel/nickelous hydroxide ternary composite by facile single-side printing technology

Shixiong Zhai; Mingliu Li; Zhendong Jin; JiaFeng Sun; Hong Zhao; Zaisheng Cai; Yaping Zhao

doi:10.1039/d1dt01679b

The fabrication of flexible wearable electrodes based on a carbon nanotubes/nickel/nickelous hydroxide ternary composite by facile single-side printing technology

Dalton Trans. 2021 Sep 28;50(37):12860-12869. doi: 10.1039/d1dt01679b.

Authors

Shixiong Zhai^{1

2

3}, Mingliu Li^{1

2}, Zhendong Jin^{1

2}, JiaFeng Sun^{1

2}, Hong Zhao^{1

2}, Zaisheng Cai^{1

2}, Yaping Zhao^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Key Lab of Science & Technology of Eco-textile, Ministry of Education, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, PR China. zhaoyping@dhu.edu.cn.
² College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology, Donghua University, Shanghai 201620, PR China.
³ Department of Chemistry, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, T2N 1N4, Canada.

PMID: 34581348
DOI: 10.1039/d1dt01679b

Abstract

A new material design strategy is developed to prepare high-performance flexible electrochemical electrodes. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and nickel/nickelous hydroxide (Ni/Ni(OH)₂) are compounded through a chemical plating method and hydrothermal process. A single-side printing method is used to combine the active material and a flexible cotton substrate. The interfinger microstructure of the textile electrode can greatly facilitate charge/ion transfer at the electrode-electrolyte interface. One side of the fabric, which is untreated, could directly contact with human skin, providing a comfortable and user-friendly surface. With the CNTs/Ni/Ni(OH)₂ ternary composite as a positive electrode and CNTs as a negative electrode, we assembled an in-plane asymmetrical micro-supercapacitor device (SF-NPCs). Thanks to a synergistic effect, SF-NPCs displays a high energy density of 0.29 W h cm^-2 at a power density of 7.2 W cm^-2. The operating window is extended to 1.5 V, and the device displays good potential for applications in the field of smart textiles.