Toward enhancing wearability and fashion of wearable supercapacitor with modified polyurethane artificial leather electrolyte

Abstract

Inspired by the sophisticated artificial leather garment industry and toward enhancing wearability of energy storage devices, we demonstrate a polyurethane artificial leather supercapacitor with large sheet electrodes embedded in the leather layer simultaneously working as a polyelectrolyte. This design totally reserves textiles underneath and thus addresses the well-known challenge of wearing comfortability. It provides a revolutionary configuration of wearable supercapacitors: the artificial leather on garment is also a supercapacitor. Unlike the polyvinyl alcohol-based acidic electrolytes, which are widely used, sodium chloride is used to modify the intrinsically fluorescent polyurethane leather for ionic transportation, which has no harm to human. The fluorescent leather supercapacitor is easily transferrable from any arbitrary substrates to form various patterns, enabling multifunctionalities of practical wearability, fashion, and energy storage.[Figure not available: see fulltext.].