A Minireview on Rubber Nanocomposites for Sustainable Supercapacitors

Abstract

The recent advancements in the electronic gadgetries necessitates 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 is a major bottle-neck. The present review discusses the synthesis of flexible electrodes for supercapacitor applications using rubber nanocomposites. This is the first-time report in the field of rubber nanocomposites for supercapacitor application in the literature both as an electrode-active material and an electrolyte additive. Initially, the properties of rubber nanocomposites are discussed and later, their various methods of synthesis are explained. Further, the preparation of electrode-active materials using rubber nanocomposites particularly for supercapacitor application is included. Furthermore, the electrochemical performance evaluation of rubber nanocomposites-based electrodes and supercapacitors are explained with the help of analysis tools such as cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and galvanostatic charge/discharge measurement. Rubber nanocomposites are suitable candidates for fabricating supercapacitor electrodes as these materials possess high tensile strength, abundant and low-cost.