Cellulose-Based Printed Power Sources

The emerging demand of ubiquitous smart electronics and the Internet of Things (IoT) calls for high-energy–density power sources with aesthetic versatility. Printed power sources have recently been in the spotlight as a promising system because of their various form factors and performance compatibility with electronics. Hence, extensive research on advanced materials has been conducted to achieve both facile processing and high performance of printed power sources. Cellulose, due to its natural abundance, environmental friendliness, chemical versatility, and dimensional stability, has been widely used as a reliable and sustainable basic constituent for a vast variety of materials/devices in our daily lives. The characteristic one-dimensional (1D) structure and chemical functionalities of cellulose bring unprecedented advantages to the fabrication and performance of energy storage materials and systems, which overcome the limitations of conventional synthetic materials. Notably, to obtain both form factor diversity and electrochemical reliability of printed power sources, cellulose has been extensively investigated as a promising building element because of its compatibility with the printing-based fabrications, mechanical stability, and electrochemically favorable morphology for printed power source components. In this chapter, we overview recent studies of cellulose as a building block for advanced printed energy storage systems, with a particular focus on application to printed electrodes, electrolytes/separator membranes, and substrates of Li-ion batteries/supercapacitors.