Flexible Electrochemical Capacitors based on ZnO-Carbon Black Composite

Habib, Wajeeha; Saji, Anju; Paul, Febin; Markapudi, Prasutha Rani; Wilson, Callum; Manjakkal, Libu

Abstract

Flexible electrochemical capacitors (EC) or supercapacitors are found to be an efficient energy storage device for modern and future electronic gadgets that offer lightweight and compact energy solutions. In this work, we investigated the electrochemical and energy-storing performances of a flexible ZnO-carbon black (ZnO-CB) composite-based EC. The prepared ZnO-CB composite electrode exhibits a conductivity of 60.75 kS/m and it shows rough surface morphology which was observed through the scanning electron microscopic images. The cyclic voltammetry analysis reveals that the flexible ZnO-CB composite-based EC has a specific capacitance of 99.21 mF.cm−2 and a charge contribution of 0.198 C.cm−2 at a low scan rate of 1 mV.s−1. The energy density of the EC gives 13.80 µW.h.cm−2 at 1 mV.s−1 and 0.53 µWh.cm−2 at 100 mV.s−1. The energy storing performances are also observed through galvanostatic charging discharging analysis and provides a specific capacitance of 5.70 mF.cm−2 with energy and power densities of 54.11 µW.h.cm−2 and 0.104 mW. cm−2 respectively at a current density of 0.25 mA.cm−2. The bendability study of the device carried out in angles of 20°, 40° and 60° predicts its energy-storing performance under various bending angles. The observed energy-storing performances of the EC reveals its potential as a power source for operating flexible and wearable devices.

Citation

Habib, W., Saji, A., Paul, F., Markapudi, P. R., Wilson, C., & Manjakkal, L. (2025). Flexible Electrochemical Capacitors based on ZnO-Carbon Black Composite. Results in Engineering, 25, Article 104510. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rineng.2025.104510

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 24, 2025
• Online Publication Date: Feb 25, 2025
• Publication Date: 2025-03
• Deposit Date: Mar 3, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 3, 2025
• Journal: Results in Engineering
• Electronic ISSN: 2590-1230
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 25
• Article Number: 104510
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rineng.2025.104510
• Keywords: Electrochemical capacitor, metal oxide, flexible energy storage, ZnO-carbon black composite, electrochemical properties
• Public URL: http://researchrepository.napier.ac.uk/Output/4135639