A high-performance flexible direct ethanol fuel cell with drop-and-play function

Abstract Highly flexible direct ethanol fuel cells (DEFC) are a promising next frontier of energy conversion devices that will change the pattern of current flexible electronics. However, the major difficulties such as ethanol-crossover-induced catalyst poisoning and harsh conditions, limit the development of such devices. Here, we report for the first time a flexible drop-and-play DEFC that addresses all these difficulties via using a highly active oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) electrocatalyst which cannot be poisoned by ethanol, together with a superior alkali-compatible and ion-conductive hydrogel electrolyte. The fabricated flexible DEFC shows high performances of 21.48 mW cm−2 power density and 1.41 mWh cm−2 energy density at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. Moreover, it possesses excellent flexibility and unique drop-and-play function, easily powering an electronic clock and a smart phone. Such high-performance flexible DEFC with drop-and-play function opens up many new opportunities for next-generation flexible electronics.