High-performance stretchable yarn supercapacitor based on PPy@CNTs@urethane elastic fiber core spun yarn

Highlights: • Stretchable yarn supercapacitor is realized using UY as stretchable, wearable scaffold. • Electrode is fabricated in large scale via depositing CNTs and PPy on UY. • Performance of yarn supercapacitor retains nearly unchanged under a high strain of 80%. Yarn supercapacitors, as knittable and weavable energy storage devices, are attracting more and more attention in recent years. Similar to various yarns with different physical and mechanical properties available in textile industry, different yarn supercapacitors should be developed as well. However, as a device, stretchable yarn supercapacitors suffer a lot from limited stretchability, complicated and high cost fabrication, which greatly restrict their wide adoptions. Here, we use urethane elastic fiber core spun yarns (UY) with intrinsic high stretchability for the first time, as a wearable scaffold for hosting conductive CNT and electrocapacitive PPy to fabricate large-scale highly stretchable yarn electrodes via a simple two-step process (CNTs dipping and PPy electrodeposition). The yarn supercapacitor keeps the excellent stretchability of the UY without using any extra stretchy substrate or wavy structure as most stretchable yarn supercapacitors used, and at the same time, exhibits a high areal capacitance of 69 mF cm⁻² (normalized to two electrodes) as well as a good rate capacity. Furthermore, the capacitive performance of the yarn supercapacitor remains nearly unchanged even at a high strain of 80%. The high-performance stretchable yarn supercapacitor with the use of intrinsically stretchable yarns paves a way for the production of large-size fabrics for wearable electronic applications.