Self-Healable Inks Permitting 3d Printing Of Diverse Systems Towards Advanced Bicontinuous Supercapacitors

Targeting a string of pressing issues featuring limited choices of material systems applicable to 3D printing, harsh preparation conditions, and unsatisfactory charge storage originating from the notorious interfacial issue, a versatile strategy permitting 3D printing of multidimensional and multifarious functional materials with solid electrochemical performance is proposed. By harnessing the utility of a gelation process, rapid assembly of functional materials into a cellular network with desired rheological behaviors for consistent 3D printing at concentrations 8-20 times smaller than reported values can be realized, therefore considerably facilitating ink preparation and dispersion while preventing the aggregation of active materials. In addition, through developing bicontinuous pathways for express transportation of ionic/electronic species and instituting a self-healing mechanism to eliminate interfacial resistance, a printed electrode with outstanding loading density and areal capacitance up to 32.2 mg/cm(2) and 2.9 F/cm(2) could be readily realized, which translates to an excellent energy density of 0.18 mWh/cm(2) for a symmetrical device. The obtainable performance metrics are orders of magnitude higher than those from conventional measures. The highlights in this work mark an important leap for 3D printing of electrochemical energy storage devices in light of the universality of this approach and the solution provided that resolves the critical and longstanding interfacial issue for additive manufacturing. The proposed measure holds a rosy future for the construction of truly meaningful high energy density devices catering for demanding applications in the next generation.