Porous Carbon-Modified Silk-Derived Carbon Mesh for High-Performance Transparent All-Solid Supercapacitors

The practical application of transparent supercapacitors (TSCs) is limited by the inherent trade-off between transparency and conductivity, as well as the environmental and economic drawbacks of electrode materials. This study presents a novel and scalable method for fabricating porous carbon-modified silk-derived carbon fiber meshes as electrode materials for transparent supercapacitors. The process involves the in situ growth of a cobalt organic complex on a silk mesh, followed by carbonization to produce a flexible, transparent carbon fiber mesh with a hierarchical porous structure (specific surface area: 570 m2/g). The resulting material exhibits good mechanical properties and electrical conductivity due to the nanographene-like structure formed during the cobalt-catalyzed carbonization process. This TSC achieves an optical transparency of up to 65% and an aerial capacitance of 9.65 mF/cm2 at a scan rate of 0.01 V/s, surpassing many existing transparent electrodes. Additionally, the device demonstrates outstanding electrochemical stability, retaining 89% of its initial capacitance after 2000 cycles at a scan rate of 0.5 V/s, showcasing superior durability. This study presents a pioneering method for developing TSCs by utilizing sustainable silk-derived carbon materials and a cost-effective fabrication process.