An extremely low temperature environment operatable hybrid dual-functioning energy device driven by a supercapacitor/piezo–triboelectric generator system

Abstract

Maintaining the quick-charging capacity of flexible supercapacitors (SCs) at low temperatures is a significant challenge. At reduced energy levels, the charging performance of piezo–triboelectric nanogenerators (PTNGs) using composite electrodes often deteriorates rapidly, owing to slow ion and charge transfer in the electrode electrolyte. Here, we present a self-chargeable power generator/SC-coupled device designed to operate at very low temperatures, ranging from 25 °C to −80 °C. The smart SC was fabricated using a PEDOT:TREN:PDMS:Ni@MnCO₃/PEDOT:TREN:PVDF–PTFE:Ni@MnCO₃ composite system and achieved a specific capacitance of 317 F g⁻¹ with 11.9 V charging power generation at −80 °C. At room temperature (25 °C), the attained capacitance was 542 F g⁻¹ with a power generation of 22 V, suggesting that this technology can potentially fulfill the urgent requirement for low-temperature-compatible wearable devices with autonomous rechargeable, stable power sources for next-generation electronics.