Biomaterials, Biodegradables and Biomimetics Research Group

Papers in Scientific Journals

Fabrication of flexible, fully organic, degradable energy storage devices using silk proteins

Abstract

Flexible and thin-film devices are of great interest in epidermal and implantable bioelectronics. The integration of energy storage and delivery devices such as supercapacitors (SCs) with properties such as flexibility, miniaturization, biocompatibility, and degradability are sought for such systems. Reducing e-waste and using sustainable materials and processes are additional desirable qualities. Herein, a silk protein-based biocompatible and degradable thin-film microSC (μSC) is reported. A protein carrier with the conducting polymer poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate and reduced graphene oxide dopant is used as a photopatternable biocomposite ink. Active electrodes are fabricated using photolithography under benign conditions, using only water as the solvent. These electrodes are printed on flexible protein sheets to form degradable, organic devices with a benign agarose–NaCl gel electrolyte. High capacitance, power density, cycling stability over 500 cycles, and the ability to power a light-emitting diode are shown. The device is flexible, can sustain cyclic mechanical stresses over 450 cycles, and retain capacitive properties over several days in liquid. Significantly, the μSCs are cytocompatible and completely degraded over the period of ∼1 month. By precise control of the device configuration, these silk protein-based, all-polymer organic devices can be designed to be tunably transient and provide viable alternatives for powering flexible and implantable bioelectronics.

Journal
ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces
Volume
10
Issue
11
Pagination
9620–9628
Publisher
ACS
ISSN
1944-8244
URL
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acsami.7b19309
Keywords
Conducting polymer, degradable, flexible, Silk protein, supercapacitor
Rights
Restricted Access
Peer Reviewed
Yes
Status
published
Project
FoReCaST
Year of Publication
2018
DOI
10.1021/acsami.7b19309
Date Published
2018-02-26
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