Fast charging self-powered electric double layer capacitor

Self-powered electrochemical energy storage devices, which store energy upon application of mechanical force, have emerged as a promising technology for the realization of autonomous systems for maintenance-free, independent and multifunctional operations. However, the existing state-of-the-art technology demonstrates slow self-charging due to slow Faradaic reactions and intercalation mechanism. Here, we report a fast self-charging, self-powered electrochemical energy storage device owing to the formation of an electric double layer with fast adsorption and desorption of ions at the carbon nanotube (CNT) electrode upon application of mechanical force. The device charges up to 70 mV from the open-circuit potential, storing a capacitance of 95 μFcm−2 upon application of a mechanical pressure of 70 N at a frequency of 5 Hz. More importantly, it takes less than 10 s to achieve 90% of the increment in the potential (60 mV), which is more than one order of magnitude faster than all of the previously reported self-powered energy storage devices.