A thin, deformable, high-performance supercapacitor implant that can be biodegraded and bioabsorbed within an animal body

It has been an outstanding challenge to achieve implantable energy modules that are mechanically soft (compatible with soft organs and tissues), have compact form factors, and are biodegradable (present for a desired time frame to power biodegradable, implantable medical electronics). Here, we present a fully biodegradable and bioabsorbable high-performance supercapacitor implant, which is lightweight and has a thin structure, mechanical flexibility, tunable degradation duration, and biocompatibility. The supercapacitor with a high areal capacitance (112.5 mF cm(-2) at 1 mA cm(-2)) and energy density (15.64 mu Wh cm(-2)) uses two-dimensional, amorphous molybdenum oxide (MoOx) flakes as electrodes, which are grown in situ on water-soluble Mo foil using a green electrochemical strategy. Biodegradation behaviors and biocompatibility of the associated materials and the supercapacitor implant are systematically studied. Demonstrations of a supercapacitor implant that powers several electronic devices and that is completely degraded after implantation and absorbed in rat body shed light on its potential uses.

Automated summary

This study introduces a novel fully biodegradable and bioabsorbable high-performance supercapacitor implant that is lightweight, thin, mechanically flexible, tunable in degradation duration, and biocompatible. The supercapacitor utilizes two-dimensional, amorphous molybdenum oxide flakes as electrodes and demonstrates high areal capacitance and energy density. Demonstrations in rat bodies show the potential uses of the supercapacitor implant for powering electronic devices and complete degradation post-implantation.