A low-cost paper-based flexible energy storage device using a conducting polymer nanocomposite

Abstract

Herein, a simple approach is demonstrated for the fabrication of a paper-based flexible symmetrical supercapacitor as an energy saving device with composite functional materials of nickel nanoparticles (Ni NPs) and polypyrrole (PPy). Specifically, an Ni@PPy nanocomposite was synthesized through a two-step process involving the growth of Ni NPs, followed by pyrrole polymerization on a paper substrate. The paper fabricated with Ni@PPy showed an electrical conductivity of 105 S cm⁻¹. The paper-based flexible supercapacitor device configured with Ni@PPy/electrolyte/Ni@PPy was evaluated for electrochemical performance, and it showed a good specific capacitance of 544 F g⁻¹ at 1 A g⁻¹. A better specific energy of 48 W h kg⁻¹, specific power of 400 W kg⁻¹, and good cycling stability (68.3% capacitance retention after 3000 cycles at 5 A g⁻¹) were obtained for the paper-based flexible supercapacitor compared with other reported polymer-based nanocomposite materials. The obtained results suggest that the fabricated paper-based supercapacitor is inexpensive, sustainable, highly efficient, portable and flexible for a wide range of electronic applications.