Triaxial Carbon Nanotube/Conducting Polymer Wet-Spun Fibers Supercapacitors for Wearable Electronics

Sustainable carbonaceous nanomaterial supported palladium as an efficient ligand-free heterogeneouscatalyst for Suzuki-Miyaura coupling

A novel ligand-free heterogeneous catalyst was synthesized via pyrolysis of Samanea saman pods to produce carbon nanospheres (SS-CNSs), which served as a carbon support for immobilizing palladium nanoparticles through an in situ reduction technique (Pd/SS-CNS). The SS-CNSs effectively integrated 3% of Pd on their surfaces with no additional activation procedures needed. The nanomaterials obtained underwent thorough characterization employing various techniques such as FT-IR, XRD, FE-SEM, TEM, EDS, ICP-AES, and BET. Subsequently, the efficiency of this Pd/SS-CNS catalyst was assessed for the synthesis of biaryl derivatives via Suzuki coupling, wherein different boronic acids were coupled with various aryl halides using an environmentally benign solvent mixture of EtOH/H2O and employing only 0.1 mol% of Pd/SS-CNS. The catalytic system was conveniently recovered through centrifugation and demonstrated reusability without any noticeable decline in catalytic activity. This approach offers economic viability, ecological compatibility, scalability, and has the potential to serve as an alternative to homogeneous catalysis.

Washable PEDOT:PSS Coated Polyester with Submicron Sized Fibers for Wearable Technologies

The use of non-metallic conductive yarns in wearable technologies like smart textiles requires compliant washable fibers that can withstand domestic washing without losing their conductive properties. A one-pot coating with PEDOT:PSS conductive polymers was applied to polyester submicron fibers, increasing the water resistance and washability under various domestic washing conditions. Plasma treatment of the untreated samples improved the anchoring of the coating to the fibers, producing smooth and homogeneous coatings. The primary doping of PEDOT:PSS with ethylene glycol (EG), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), and a non-ionic surfactant as well as the secondary doping of the composite fibers improved the sheet resistance at room temperature. The as-obtained composite materials showed similar mechanical properties as the parent fibers, indicating that the coating and post-treatment do not affect the overall mechanical property of the composite. The performance of the composites under different temperature and humidity conditions and washability using the standardized ISO 6330:2012 procedure for domestic washing and drying showed that the obtained composites are good candidates for reliable washable wearable technologies, such as all-organic washable Joule heaters in functional textiles.

Banana Peel and Conductive Polymers-Based Flexible Supercapacitors for Energy Harvesting and Storage

Flexible supercapacitors are highly demanding due to their wearability, washability, lightweight property and rollability. In this paper, a comprehensive review on flexible supercapacitors based on conductive polymers such as polypyrrole (PPy), polyaniline (PANI) and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxtthiophne)-polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS). Methods of enhancing the conductivity of PEDOT:PSS polymer using various composites and chemical solutions have been reviewed in detail. Furthermore, supercapacitors based on carbonized banana peels and methods of activation have been discussed in point. This review covers the up-to-date progress achieved in conductive polymer-based materials for supercapacitor electrodes. The effect of various composites with PEDOT:PSS have been discussed. The review result indicated that flexible, stretchable, lightweight, washable, and disposable wearable electronics based on banana peel and conductive polymers are highly demanding.

Tunable Spun Fiber Constructs in Biomedicine: Influence of Processing Parameters in the Fibers' Architecture

Electrospinning and wet-spinning have been recognized as two of the most efficient and promising techniques for producing polymeric fibrous constructs for a wide range of applications, including optics, electronics, food industry and biomedical applications. They have gained considerable attention in the past few decades because of their unique features and tunable architectures that can mimic desirable biological features, responding more effectively to local demands. In this review, various fiber architectures and configurations, varying from monolayer and core-shell fibers to tri-axial, porous, multilayer, side-by-side and helical fibers, are discussed, highlighting the influence of processing parameters in the final constructs. Additionally, the envisaged biomedical purposes for the examined fiber architectures, mainly focused on drug delivery and tissue engineering applications, are explored at great length.

Nelumbo nucifera Seed-Derived Nitrogen-Doped Hierarchically Porous Carbons as Electrode Materials for High-Performance Supercapacitors

Biomass-derived activated carbon materials with hierarchically nanoporous structures containing nitrogen functionalities show excellent electrochemical performances and are explored extensively in energy storage and conversion applications. Here, we report the electrochemical supercapacitance performances of the nitrogen-doped activated carbon materials with an ultrahigh surface area prepared by the potassium hydroxide (KOH) activation of the Nelumbo nucifera (Lotus) seed in an aqueous electrolyte solution (1 M sulfuric acid: H2SO4) in a three-electrode cell. The specific surface areas and pore volumes of Lotus-seed-derived carbon materials carbonized at a different temperatures, from 600 to 1000 °C, are found in the range of 1059.6 to 2489.6 m2 g-1 and 0.819 to 2.384 cm3 g-1, respectively. The carbons are amorphous materials with a partial graphitic structure with a maximum of 3.28 atom% nitrogen content and possess hierarchically micro- and mesoporous structures. The supercapacitor electrode prepared from the best sample showed excellent electrical double-layer capacitor performance, and the electrode achieved a high specific capacitance of ca. 379.2 F g-1 at 1 A g-1 current density. Additionally, the electrode shows a high rate performance, sustaining 65.9% capacitance retention at a high current density of 50 A g-1, followed by an extraordinary long cycle life without any capacitance loss after 10,000 subsequent charging/discharging cycles. The electrochemical results demonstrate that Nelumbo nucifera seed-derived hierarchically porous carbon with nitrogen functionality would have a significant probability as an electrical double-layer capacitor electrode material for the high-performance supercapacitor applications.

In Situ Synthesis of CoCeSx Bimetallic Sulfide Nanoparticles on a Bi-Pyrene Terminated Molecular Wire Modified Graphene Surface for Supercapacitors

The excellent electrical conductivity of graphene is due to its highly-conjugated structures. Manipulation of the electronic and mechanical properties of graphene can be achieved by controlling the destruction of its in-sheet conjugation system. Herein, we report the preparation of CoCeS_x -SA@BPMW@RGO through π-π stacking interactions at the molecular level. In this study, sodium alginate was reacted with Co²⁺ and Ce³⁺ , and the composite was loaded onto a graphene surface. The graphene sheets were prepared using a bi-pyrene terminated molecular wire (BPMW) to avoid re-stacking of the grapheme sheets, thereby forming nanoscale spaces between sheets. The angle between the BPMW coplanar pyrene group and the phenyl group was 33.2°, and the graphene layer is supported in an oblique direction. Finally, a three-dimensional porous composite was obtained after annealing and vulcanization. The obtained CoCeS_x -SA@BPMW@RGO exhibited excellent electrical conductivity and remarkable cycle stability. When the current density was 1 A g^-1 , its specific capacitance was as high as 1004 F g^-1 . BPMW modifies graphene through the synergistic effect of π-π stacking interaction and special structure to obtain excellent electrochemical performance. Moreover, a solid-state asymmetric supercapacitor device was fabricated based on the synthesized CoCeS_x -SA@BPMW@RGO hybrid, which exhibited a power density of 979 W kg^-1 at an energy density of 23.96 Wh kg^-1 .