Flexible wearable electronics are getting more and more popular with time. Moreover, the sector has experienced more spikes due to the dramatic growth of smart devices that exchange information with devices embedded with sensors software and other technologies. As a consequence of this trend, researchers have also started focusing on exploring flexible energy storage devices such as FSCs (Flexible supercapacitors), which are not only lightweight but also safe and can be easily integrated with other devices. Furthermore, the devices have high power density and fast charge and discharge rates.
In a recent study, researchers have provided reviews for printed FSCs on the basis of their ability to integrate functions with other electronic devices, formulate functional inks, and design printable electrodes. The review might help players in the Smart Connected Device Market to better understand the viability of FSCs and which are better than the others at present.
The published work stated that manufacturing electronic devices, printing electronics, and systems through conventional printing techniques has turned out to be a cost-efficient, simple and scalable strategy when it comes to fabricating FSCs. However, it reflected that the use of traditional micro-manufacturing techniques could be extremely expensive and complex.
The team revealed that printed FSCs are usually manufactured by printing the functional inks upon the conventional organic and inorganic electrode materials present on flexible substrates. As the structure of the film is thin, the printed devices can be easily bent, twisted, or even stretched to a certain extent without incurring any loss of electrochemical function. Furthermore, the rigid current collector of the supercapacitor can be substituted by the flexible printed parts. Several printing techniques are well established for such work, such as 3D printing, screen printing, or even inkjet printing which can fabricate FSCs.
The team also revealed that it is of utmost importance, for now, to invest R&D on flexible, miniaturized, and planar high-performance electrochemical energy storage devices. This is mainly so that portable devices can be further brought into the daily lives of people. In fact, the agenda is that in the coming future, the printer could use printers to print a supercapacitor to charge a cell phone or any smart wristband at any point in time.
The research team discovered that in printable ink formulations, it is necessary to follow two principles. First is that while selecting components, fewer ineffective additives should be used for better conductive binders as well as excellent dispersion electrode materials. The second is to have inked with the necessary viscosity and an appropriate rheology property to have excellent prints as a result. Printable functional materials like pseudocapacitive materials and graphene can be good components for printed supercapacitors.
Printed electronics provide the benefit of flexibility and low cost; thus, they can be used for manufacturing transistors, solar cells, RFID tags, flexible OLED displays, and other integrated smart devices. This opens up opportunities in several other applications, including smart labels, intelligent packaging, and smart textiles.
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