Dissolvable conducting polymer supercapacitor for transient electronics

This work explores the use of a conducting polymer that can dissolve in mild aqueous conditions as a super-capacitor material for applications in transient electronics, biomedical devices, and biodegradable energy stor-age. A repeating polymer of methyl 1H-pyrrole-3-carboxylate monomer (MPC polymer) is prepared via electrochemical and chemical polymerization methods, and tested for the first time as a supercapacitor energy storage material. The MPC polymer exhibits charge storage performance comparable to pseudocapacitive con-ducting polymer polypyrrole (PPY), both as a planar electrode and as a composite porous electrode with poly (L- lactic acid) (PLLA). Chronoamperometry charge-discharge results indicate that the MPC polymer stores energy as a pseudocapacitive material following a faradaic current model. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements demonstrate that MPC polymer electrodes have lower equivalent series and charge transfer resistance compared to PPY electrodes. Cycle life testing of MPC polymer and PPY electrodes shows equal capacitance loss for both electrodes over 1100 cycles. After use as a supercapacitor electrode with an organic electrolyte, MPC polymer-based electrodes showed visible signs of degradation in a mild aqueous environment (37 degrees C, pH 8.2) in 8 h.

Automated summary

This work explores the use of a conducting polymer that can dissolve in mild aqueous conditions as a super-capacitor material. The new polymer (MPC polymer) is prepared and compared with polypyrrole (PPY). The results show that the MPC polymer has similar charge storage performance and lower resistance.