TiO2-nanoflowers as flexible electrode for high performance supercapacitor

This work represents a facile and low temperature hydrothermal route for the preparation of Titanium Dioxide nanoflowers (TiO₂-NFs) supported on highly conductive carbon fabric (CF). This modified CF has been studied as flexible electrode for energy storage application. The CF functions as a flexible framework for TiO₂-NFs and also acts as a current collector in the fabricated supercapacitor. Benefiting from the distinct arrangement of TiO₂-NFs on the interconnected network of CF, the CF-TiO₂-NFs demonstrate high gravimetric capacitance of 392.94 F/g at 1 A/g and areal capacitance of 1.24 F/cm² at 1 A/cm² in 1 M H₂SO₄ electrolyte. CF-TiO₂-NFs showed excellent cyclic stability by retaining ~94% of its initial capacitance after 3500 GCD cycles. For real world application a flexible supercapacitor device has been fabricated and tested for its energy storage performance at various bending states which resulted in only 1.8% capacitance loss at the bending angle of 140°, when compared with the capacitance obtained at an angle 0° (flat state). Here, CF contributed in improving the conductivity and stability; whereas, TiO₂-NFs enhanced the charge holding capacity owing to their superior surface area and high porosity. Synergetic effect between both the counterparts boosted the overall electrochemical performance of the resulting CF-TiO₂-NFs electrodes. These results endorse the potential applicability of the fabricated flexible electrode as a promising candidate for wearable and portable electronic devices.