Fiber-Shaped Supercapacitors for Wearable Energy Storage

Fiber-shaped supercapacitors integrate high-performance energy storage into flexible, lightweight fibres suitable for wearable electronics. They combine conductive fibre electrodes with electrolyte systems to deliver rapid charge and discharge, high power density, and mechanical resilience. Recent advances focus on enhancing energy density through innovations in conductive polymers, carbon nanostructures and metal oxide pseudocapacitive coatings, while preserving fibre flexibility and scalability. Key challenges include optimisation of ion transport pathways within microstructured electrodes, improvement of electrode–electrolyte interfaces and seamless integration into textiles. Practical applications range from self-powered sensors and e-textiles to on-body health monitors, emphasising the global need for dependable, conformal power sources in next-generation wearables.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent work has demonstrated the use of the wearer’s sweat as a bio-compatible electrolyte in symmetrical carbon-thread supercapacitors. These devices feature polypyrrole-functionalised carbon fibres that serve both as electrodes and current collectors, delivering energy densities approaching 0.4 Wh kg−1 and power densities on the order of tens of kW kg−1 under bending and repeated cycling. A gel-coated separator ensures mechanical robustness in textile integration. Another study employed phase-controlled electrodeposition of α-MnO₂ nanosheets and γ-MnO₂ nanoparticles onto carbon nanotube yarns to achieve ultrahigh mass loading without compromising charge transport. The resulting yarn electrodes exhibit areal capacitances above 3 F cm−2 and energy densities nearing 100 μWh cm−2, while retaining stability during flexing and weaving.

Fiber-Shaped Supercapacitors for Wearable Energy Storage publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in fiber-shaped supercapacitors for wearable energy storage across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Fibre-shaped supercapacitor: An energy storage device fabricated in a flexible fibre form, combining electrode and electrolyte into a yarn or thread structure.

Pseudocapacitance: Charge storage mechanism involving fast, reversible redox reactions at or near the electrode surface, boosting capacitance beyond electric double-layer effects.

Volumetric energy density: Amount of energy stored per unit volume of the device.

Areal capacitance: Capacitance normalised to the surface area of the electrode, indicating charge storage capability per unit area.

Specific surface area: Total surface area of electrode material per unit mass, influencing ion accessibility and overall capacitance.

References

1. Carbon threads sweat-based supercapacitors for electronic textiles. Scientific Reports (2020).
2. Electrodeposition of α-MnO2/γ-MnO2 on Carbon Nanotube for Yarn Supercapacitor. Scientific Reports (2019).
3. Kinetic investigation of the energy storage process in graphene fiber supercapacitors: Unraveling mechanisms, fabrications, property manipulation, and wearable applications. Carbon Energy (2024).
4. Bamboo-inspired cell-scale assembly for energy device applications. npj Flexible Electronics (2022).