Conducting polymer-coated co-based MOF-derived porous nanocomposites for flexible energy storage
摘要
To address the limitations of traditional supercapacitors in wearable electronics, we developed a low-cost stepwise processing to fabricate a hierarchical mesoporous composite electrode directly grown on carbon cloth. A cobalt-based MOF (Co-BTC) precursor was directly grown on carbon cloth. Afterward, mesoporous nanocomposites were derived via appropriate carbonization, followed by polypyrrole (PPy) encapsulation via in situ polymerization. Systematic structural analyses (XRD, XPS, FTIR) confirmed that the derived nanocomposite consists of Co3O4, CoO, and a small amount of Co with amorphous carbon. PPy covered on the surface of the mesoporous nanocomposites. The flexible and conductive PPy-coated CoOx/C nanocomposite not only sustains the integrity of mesoporous structure, increases the electronic conductivity, but only enhances the adhesion to the carbon cloth current collector. Such novel formula and processing enabled the electrode to maintain structural integrity and excellent cycle life under repeated 180° bending in a prototype symmetric supercapacitor device setting.