Integrating photovoltaic conversion and lithium ion storage into a flexible fiber

Abstract

Flexible electronics has witnessed the rapid advancement of fiber-shaped energy devices, particularly fiber-shaped integrated devices that simultaneously realize energy conversion and storage in a single fiber. However, it remains challenging to produce integrated energy fibers with enhanced energy storage capacities and output voltages, and meanwhile retain the high flexibility and integration. Here, we demonstrate a novel family of integrated energy devices by integrating photoelectric conversion and lithium ion storage into a flexible fiber. The fiber-shaped integrated energy device exhibits a core–sheath structure with the photoelectric conversion part at the sheath and the lithium ion storage part at the core. It simultaneously displays a high energy storage capacity and output voltage. The integrated energy fibers are lightweight, flexible and weavable, and represent promising candidates to power the next-generation portable and wearable electronic devices. The results presented here could provide inspiration for the development of high-performance integrated devices.