A minireview on rubber nanocomposites for sustainable supercapacitors

Abstract

The recent advancements in electronic gadgets necessitate the use of flexible electrochemical energy storage devices to power them. Supercapacitors are the best choices, but the availability of flexible electrode-active materials with excellent electrochemical charge storage capacity is a major bottleneck. The present review discusses the synthesis of flexible electrodes using rubber nanocomposites for supercapacitor applications. This is the first report in the literature on the use of rubber nanocomposites for supercapacitor application. Rubber and their derivatives are used as additives for the fabrication of nanocomposites in both electrode-active materials and electrolytes. Initially, this review discusses the properties of rubber nanocomposites, and then, their various synthesis methods are explained. Furthermore, the preparation of electrode-active materials using rubber nanocomposites, particularly for supercapacitor applications, is elucidated. The evaluation of the electrochemical performance of rubber nanocomposite-based electrodes and supercapacitors is also explained with the help of cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and galvanostatic charge/discharge measurement analyses. Rubber nanocomposites are suitable candidates for fabricating supercapacitor electrodes as they possess the high tensile strength, natural abundance, flexibility, environmentally friendly and low cost.