Flexible self-assembled membrane electrodes based on eco-friendly bamboo fibers for supercapacitors

Here we report a flexible supercapacitor electrode fabricated via a simple method by applying a continuous polyaniline (PANi) coating on the surface of a cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) film. On one hand, we can recycle a large amount of bamboo fiber waste. On the other hand, we greatly improve the processing performance of PANi by making full use of CNFs’ superior mechanical properties. The flexible eco-friendly CNFs/PANi film can be directly used as an electrode without binder. SEM and FTIR measurements indicate there is a very secure combination between CNFs and PANi. The CNFs/PANi electrode boasts fine mechanical properties, excellent reversible performance and good specific capacitance (254.7 F/g at current density of 0.2 A/g). We expect the hybrid electrode will be used for flexible supercapacitor application.