title: 3D Printing of Carbon Nanotubes-Based Microsupercapacitors.
abstract: A novel 3D printing procedure is presented for fabricating carbon-nanotubes (CNTs)-based microsupercapacitors. The 3D printer uses a CNTs ink slurry with a moderate solid content and prints a stream of continuous droplets. Appropriate control of a heated base is applied to facilitate the solvent removal and adhesion between printed layers and to improve the structure integrity without structure delamination or distortion upon drying. The 3D-printed electrodes for microsupercapacitors are characterized by SEM, laser scanning confocal microscope, and step profiler. Effect of process parameters on 3D printing is also studied. The final solid-state microsupercapacitors are assembled with the printed multilayer CNTs structures and poly(vinyl alcohol)-H3PO4gel as the interdigitated microelectrodes and electrolyte. The electrochemical performance of 3D printed microsupercapacitors is also tested, showing a significant areal capacitance and excellent cycle stability.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2113-4046
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Han
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Michigan-Dearborn , Dearborn, Michigan 48128, United States.
authors.forename: Ben Q
authors.initials: BQ
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Shujiang
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ding
keywords: 3D printing; additive manufacturing; carbon nanotube; continuous droplets; microsupercapacitor