Screen-Printed PEDOT:PSS/Ag Composite Electrodes for High-Performance Paper-Based Supercapacitors

Abstract

Conductive polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT: PSS) has garnered extensive research interest as the electrode material for supercapacitors due to its excellent conductivity and high specific capacitance. However, the dense stacking of PEDOT:PSS leads to a low utilization for high areal capacitance, due to the limited amounts of active sites exposure to electrolytes. In this study, Ag particles are first incorporated into PEDOT:PSS ink to produce PEDOT:PSS/Ag composite electrode materials, which are then used to construct paper-based flexible supercapacitors via a scalable screen-printing technique. Benefiting from the improved electrical property and surface morphology, the areal capacitance of the supercapacitor based on PEDOT:PSS/Ag composite electrodes is found to be 3.87 times greater than that of the pure PEDOT:PSS electrode. Moreover, the paper-based supercapacitor also exhibits exceptional flexibility, maintaining over 80% of its initial capacitance even after 9000 bending cycles. These findings indicate that PEDOT:PSS/Ag composite electrodes are promising candidates for high-performance flexible supercapacitors, highlighting their potential to supply continuous power for application in future flexible electronics.