Researchers from Italy's Sapienza University of Rome, Portugal's International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL), University of Minho and Universidade de Lisboa have developed a sustainable approach to produce an electrically conductive, graphene-based paste suitable for fabricating flexible devices such as microsupercapacitors (mSCs).
The new method enables the scalable, cost-effective, and environmentally friendly production of high-quality graphene materials, paving the way for advanced applications in energy storage and flexible electronics.
The approach is based on the exfoliation of graphite in water by using high-shear mixing and high-pressure airless spray techniques, which are carefully optimized to obtain highly concentrated and stable dispersions of graphene. The graphene materials are then combined with carbon black and a natural binder to form an eco-friendly composite paste that can be used to fabricate fully flexible and high-performance microsupercapacitors.
The resulting microsupercapacitors reportedly demonstrate very high capacitance and energy density, providing exceptional coulombic efficiency and cyclability (~99% after 10,000 cycles), mechanical flexibility, and the possibility of serial/parallel integration without metal-based interconnects for high-voltage and high-capacitance outputs. As a result, these lightweight and versatile devices have enormous potential for electronic applications.
The researchers have developed a one-kind-fits-all paste for innovative electronic devices that can be fabricated by low-cost techniques such as blade coating and screen printing, making a significant step towards commercial production. The versatility and broad application potential of this nanocarbon-based paste have been demonstrated by the researchers, who fabricated an array of diverse devices, including efficient electromagnetic interference shielding coatings and reliable wearable strain sensors integrated in textiles.
