Top ten technological breakthroughs in flexible en

Take stock of the ten technological breakthroughs of flexible energy storage: changing the future of intelligent hardware (Part I)

the progress of science and technology and the popularity of intelligent boom also make electronic devices more colorful. Intelligent hardware, intelligent and intelligent wearable devices are also trends in recent years, especially the rapid progress of electronic technology, which makes these electronic devices develop in the direction of lightness, diversification, diversification and flexibility, such as the comprehensive screen popular in 2017. This year, manufacturers such as Samsung and apple plan to develop a new generation of flexible electronic products that are foldable and flexible

this kind of flexible electronic products full of future science fiction frequently appear in various electronic exhibitions, which meets the public's imagination of the sense of science and technology of electronic products. At the same time, it also guides the development direction of electronic products. Flexible electronics is obviously one of the future development trends

it is worth mentioning that flexible electronics has been rated as one of the world's top ten scientific and technological achievements, and it is predicted that it will bring an electronic technology revolution. Now, driven by the market, this electronic technology revolution has quietly arrived. According to the forecast data of IDTechEx, a research organization, the flexible electronic market was $46.94 billion in 2018, and will reach $301 billion by 2028, with a compound annual growth rate of nearly 30% from 2011 to 2028

driven by the broad market prospect, the development of flexible electronic technology is also changing with each passing day, and the biggest challenge of the development of flexible electronics is the corresponding flexible energy storage devices. Traditional lithium batteries and supercapacitors are rigid. When bending and folding, it is easy to cause the separation of electrode material and collector, affect electrochemical performance, and even lead to short circuit, resulting in serious safety problems

therefore, in order to adapt to the development of the next generation of flexible electronic devices, flexible energy storage devices have become a research hotspot in recent years. OFweek Electronic Engineering reviewed the ten recent technological breakthroughs in flexible energy storage to help you understand the development status of flexible energy storage

1. Plastic granulator is also a major energy consumer in China. Flexible multi-functional bipolar all solid-state lithium-ion battery

on October 18, 2017, the media reported that the National Academy of science and technology in Ulsan, South Korea, has developed a new flexible multi-functional bipolar all solid-state lithium-ion battery, which solves the common problems of bipolar lithium-ion batteries based on inorganic electrolytes

it is understood that researchers have prepared bipolar lib through solvent-free drying and UV curing assisted multistage printing technology, and developed a new type of flexible nonflammable gel electrolyte, which is used as a core element for printing electrodes and printing solid gel composite electrolytes. As an efficient and scalable technology, the multi-level printed bipolar battery preparation technology has promoted the development of bipolar all solid-state batteries to commercialization, and has great application prospects

comments: lithium ion batteries are not uncommon. Now mainstream electronics use lithium batteries, but this technology can break the rigid characteristics of lithium batteries, and achieving flexible multi-function bipolar is undoubtedly a great technological breakthrough

2. Paper flexible supercapacitor

on October 24, 2017, Seung woo Lee, an assistant professor at the school of mechanical engineering, Georgia Institute of technology, and Jinhan CHO, a department of chemical and biological engineering, Korea University, jointly developed a paper flexible supercapacitor. The supercapacitor uses metal nanoparticles to coat cellulose fibers in paper, creating supercapacitor electrodes with high energy and high power density, and realizing the textile based supercapacitor with the best performance so far

through research and testing, it is shown that the capacitor manufactured with this technology can be folded thousands of times without affecting the conductivity. In addition, the maximum power and energy density of this metal paper supercapacitor reach 15.1mw/cm2 and 267.3uw/cm2 respectively, which is basically superior to conventional paper or textile supercapacitors

and its application scenarios are also very rich. It supports wearable devices, portable electronic products, etc. it can also combine flexible capacitors with energy collection devices to power biomedical sensors, consumer electronics, military electronic products and other applications

comments: like lithium batteries, supercapacitors are also rigid and not easy to bend and fold. However, from another point of view of materials, this technology broke the Convention and developed a paper flexible supercapacitor based on textiles. If we can further solve the problem and achieve commercial use, it is likely to bring changes

3. Graphite alkyne high-performance flexible battery

on October 27, 2017, this time it was China's turn to show its prowess in technology. The new energy carbon materials team of Qingdao Institute of bioenergy and process, Chinese Academy of Sciences, in cooperation with the Institute of chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, has developed a graphite alkynyl molecular material, which changes the traditional concept of battery materials and realizes the preparation of high-performance flexible batteries

it is understood that the electrochemical sodium storage capacity shown by this material in the testing and research of sodium ion batteries has a leading position among similar materials, and it is entirely possible to become a new generation of high-performance, flexible energy storage batteries. It has brought new perspectives and new ideas to the future research of electrochemical energy storage devices in China, and will actively promote the progress of China's 13th five year plan for new energy and new materials research

comments: graphene is a new all carbon nanostructure material after fullerene, carbon nanotubes and graphene. It has rich carbon chemical bonds, large conjugation system, wide surface spacing and excellent chemical stability. It is known as the most stable allotrope of synthetic diacetylene carbon. Due to its special electronic structure and excellent semiconductor properties similar to silicon, graphene is expected to be widely used in electronics, semiconductors and new energy fields

4. Fiber type solid-state lithium-ion flexible battery

on November 20, 2017, the University of Maryland Hu liangbing research team prepared fiber type solid-state lithium-ion flexible battery by using 3D printing technology to prepare samples where the waste tear line deviated from the constant radius area. The battery can maintain stable electrochemical performance in the bending state. In the future, it can be combined with ordinary fabrics as an important energy storage device for wearable electronic devices

it is worth mentioning that compared with other complex and precise technologies, this preparation method is very simple and fast. It may not be perfect in other aspects, but it provides a new idea for mass production of flexible lithium-ion batteries, and can also be effectively applied to other flexible one-dimensional batteries with active material systems

comments: using 3D printing technology is a new idea. 3D printing technology is very popular in recent years, and its cost and production are also very convenient and fast in Chengdu. For the flexible energy storage device industry, it is a direction worthy of thinking

5. Flexible solid-state supercapacitor on December 12, 2017, the mayanwei research group of the research department of superconductivity and new energy materials, Institute of electrical engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, used multistage graphene composite electrode and ionic liquid gel polymer electrolyte to develop a high-energy density flexible solid-state supercapacitor with a 3.5V voltage window for the first time. It is understood that the research was completed by the team of the Institute of electrical engineering in cooperation with GE Xingbo, a professor of Southwest Petroleum University

it is reported that researchers have successfully prepared a flexible solid-state supercapacitor with a wide voltage window by adjusting the microstructure of the electrode and introducing ionic liquid gel electrolyte, which effectively improves the energy density of the device. After 10000 cycles of charge and discharge, the capacity of the flexible solid-state supercapacitor can still be maintained at more than 85%. After 1000 consecutive bends, the capacity can still be maintained at 88%. It has good electrochemical performance and excellent mechanical bending resistance

comments: graphene material is not new, and the concept of graphene battery is familiar in the market, but it has been in the state of technology research and development. This technological breakthrough provides an effective strategy for improving the energy density of flexible solid-state supercapacitors in the future