Supercapacitors Based on Flexible Substrates: An Overview

Recently our modern society is demanding flexible, low-cost, and lightweight electrochemical energy storage systems, which are very important in variety of applications ranging from portable consumer electronics to large industrial-scale power and energy management. Among different energy storage systems, flexible supercapacitors have been considered as one of the most promising candidates due to their significant merits such as high power density along with the unique properties of being flexible, lightweight, shape versatile, and eco-friendly in comparison to other energy storage systems. In this regard, this review article describes the principles of supercapacitors and the recent research progress on flexible supercapacitor electrodes, for which metal substrates, carbon-based paper, conventional paper, textiles, sponges, and cables are used as substrates to fabricate high-performance flexible supercapacitors. Finally, the future challenges and perspectives for the development of flexible supercapacitors based on bendable substrates and their applications are discussed.