High–performance flexible supercapacitor based on carbon cloth through in–situ electrochemical exfoliation and re–deposition in neutral electrolyte

A facile approach for fabricating flexible electrodes was presented by using simultaneously commercial carbon cloth as three–dimensional conductive support and raw material source of graphene sheets through in–situ electrochemical exfoliation and re–deposition in same sulfate electrolyte system. The capacitive properties of carbon cloth were distinctly boosted through electrochemical treatment, which strongly depended on the nature of metal ions in the sulfate electrolyte. Moreover, the highest capacitive properties could be obtained for Li2SO4 among all the electrolyte systems, benefiting from thick and dense but porous graphene layers and high hydrophilic properties of the electrode. The assembled supercapacitor possessed large specific capacitance (292.8 mF cm−2 at 2 mA cm−2), high rate capability as well as high mechanical and cyclic stability. This approach has been demonstrated to be a simple and green route under mild condition for low–cost fabricating all–solid state supercapacitors with high charge storage ability.