Flexible/Stretchable Supercapacitors for Powering Integrated Sensors of Wearable Patch Devices

In accordance with the miniaturization of personal wearable electronics, there has been extensive effort to develop high performance flexible/stretchable energy storage devices for powering integrated active devices. Supercapacitors are expected to achieve this purpose owing to their simple structures, high power density, and cyclic stability. As integrated wearable powering devices, supercapacitors are required to have stability over mechanical deformation such as bending and stretching due to body movements in addition to high electrochemical performance. The application of flexible/stretchable supercapacitors can be expanded further through the introduction of additional novel functionalities.<br/><br/>In this talk, we will introduce our recent works on the fabrication of high performance flexible/stretchable supercapacitors and their application as integrated energy storage devices to power various sensors in stretchable patch devices. In particular, our design strategy to fabricate the stretchable array of supercapacitors using serpentine and liquid metal interconnections as well as the intrinsically stretchable supercapacitors will be discussed. Finally, we will demonstrate our currently developed flexible/stretchable supercapacitors with novel functionality of self-healing, temperature tolerance, biodegradability, shape memory, and electrochromic display for advanced wearable patch devices with high durability, environmental friendliness, and color-changing display.