Conducting polymer hydrogel based electrode materials for supercapacitor applications

Conducting polymer hydrogels (CPHs) have drawn considerable interest for supercapacitors due to their fascinating features such as large pseudocapacitance, interconnected 3D porous nanostructure, excellent conductivity, high mechanical strength, inherent flexibility, biocompatibility, scalable processability, environment friendliness and low production cost. The hydrogel active materials having proper contact with the ions of electrolyte offer a high accessible surface area to the electrode. Hierarchical 3D porous structure of CPH facilitates quick electron transfer and ion diffusion within the entire network, resulting in improved electrical and electrochemical properties of a supercapacitor. Besides, the intrinsic softness of hydrogel provides excellent flexibility advantageous for flexible energy storage devices. The present review also incorporates the brief introduction of supercapacitors. An effort is made for a comprehensive review on recent advances in the development of CPH based electrode materials for supercapacitors including CPH composites with carbon materials and metal oxides. It provides an exhaustive reference for the future perspectives of CPH based supercapacitors for consumer and industrial applications.

Automated summary

Conducting polymer hydrogels (CPHs) have gained significant interest in supercapacitors due to their unique features, such as large pseudocapacitance, interconnected 3D porous nanostructure, excellent conductivity, and high flexibility. The hierarchical 3D porous structure enables fast electron transfer and ion diffusion, leading to improved electrical and electrochemical properties of supercapacitors.