Mechanically Strong Graphene/Aramid Nanofiber Composite Electrodes for Structural Energy and Power
By Kwon, Se Ra; Harris, John; Zhou, Tianyang; Loufakis, Dimitrios; Boyd, James G.; Lutkenhaus, Jodie L.
Published in ACS Nano
2017
Abstract
Structural energy and power systems offer both mechanical and electrochemical performance in a single multifunctional platform. These are of growing interest because they potentially offer reduction in mass and/or volume for aircraft, satellites, and ground transportation. To this end, flexible graphene-based supercapacitors have attracted much attention due to their extraordinary mechanical and electrical properties, yet they suffer from poor strength. This problem may be exacerbated with the inclusion of functional guest materials, often yielding strengths of <15 MPa. Here, we show that graphene paper supercapacitor electrodes containing aramid nanofibers as guest materials exhibit extraordinarily high tensile strength (100.6 MPa) and excellent electrochemical stability. This is achieved by extensive hydrogen bonding and ?