Cellulose eutecticgel electrolytes based on ethylene glycol/zinc chloride deep eutectic solvent for flexible solid-state capacitors

In the present work, we successfully prepared a conductive eutecticgel with good mechanical properties, adhesion properties and excellent antifreeze properties by mixing ethylene glycol (EG) as the hydrogen bonding donor and zinc chloride (ZnCl2) as the hydrogen bonding acceptor in different molar ratios to form an anhydrous deep eutectic solvent (DES). Water-soluble cellulose acetate (WSCA), monomer acrylamide (AM), initiator ammonium persulfate (APS) and cross-linking agent MBA (N, N′-methylene bis(acrylamide)) were added into the prepared DES to form a eutecticgel by a simple one-pot cooking strategy. The mechanical properties of the eutecticgel were strengthened by cross-linking of WSCA and PAM chains through hydrogen bonding, and the addition of the DES and ZnCl2 increased the freezing-resistant property of the eutecticgel. The stresses of DES-WSCA/PAM eutecticgel increased with the content of WSCA. The stress of DES-WSCA/PAM eutecticgel gradually becomes larger with the increase of WSCA content, and it can reach 184.07 kPa at 2 % WSCA content. In addition, the capacitor prepared by DES-WSCA/PAM eutecticgel shows excellent performance, with a voltage window of 2 V and a capacitance of 371.5 F/g, which can be operated stably for a long period, and the capacitance can still reach 145.4 F/g even under the condition of −40 °C. Moreover, DES-WSCA/PAM eutecticgel capacitor has a long service life, its capacitance retention rate and coulombic efficiency can reach more than 91 % and 95 %, respectively, after 10,000 times of charging and discharging tests. In summary, DES-WSCA/PAM eutecticgel electrolyte is an ideal material for capacitors, which opens up a new way of thinking for the development of multifunctional cellulose-based eutecticgels with low-temperature resistance, good mechanical properties, and non-irritating for wearable energy storage devices.