The capacitance of conducting polymers represents one of the most important material parameters that in many cases determines the device and material performances. Despite a vast number of experimental studies, the theoretical understanding of the origin of the capacitance in conducting polymers remains unsatisfactory and appears even controversial. Here, we present a theoretical method, based on first principle capacitance calculations using density functional theory (DFT), and apply it to calculate the volumetric capacitance of two archetypical conducting polymers: poly(3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene) (PEDOT) and polypyrrole (PPy). Our aim is to achieve a quantitate description of the volumetric capacitance and to provide a qualitative understanding of its nature at the atomistic level. We find that the volumetric capacitance of PEDOT and PPy is ≈100 F cm⁻³ and ≈300 F cm⁻³, respectively, which is within the range of the corresponding reported experimental results. We demonstrate that the capacitance of conducting polymers originates from charges stored in atomistic Stern layers formed by counterions and doped polymeric chains. The Stern layers have a purely electrostatic origin, since the counterions do not form any bonds with the atoms of the polymeric chains, and no charge transfer between the counterions and conducting polymer takes place. This classifies the conducting polymers as double-layer supercapacitors rather than pseudo-capacitors. Further, we analyze contributions to the total capacitance originating from the classical capacitance C_C and the quantum capacitance C_Q, respectively, and find that the latter provides a dominant contribution. The method of calculations of the capacitance developed in the present paper is rather general and opens up the way for engineering and optimizing the capacitive response of the conducting polymers.

The UV-to-IR transitions in p-doped poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) with alkyl side chains and polar polythiophene with tetraethylene glycol side chains are studied experimentally by means of the absorption spectroscopy and computationally using density functional theory (DFT) and tight-binding DFT. The evolution of electronic structure is calculated as the doping level is varied, while the roles of dopant ions, chain twisting, and π–π stacking are also considered, each of these having the effect of broadening the absorption peaks while not significantly changing their positions. The calculated spectra are found to be in good agreement with experimental spectra obtained for the polymers doped with a molybdenum dithiolene complex. As in other DFT studies of doped conjugated polymers, the electronic structure and assignment of optical transitions that emerge are qualitatively different from those obtained through earlier “traditional” approaches. In particular, the two prominent bands seen for the p-doped materials are present for both polarons and bipolarons/polaron pairs. The lowest energy of these transitions is due to excitation from the valence band to a spin-resolved orbitals located in the gap between the bands. The higher-energy band is a superposition of excitation from the valence band to a spin-resolved orbitals in the gap and an excitation between bands.

The possibility of inducing a sizeable energy gap in the electronic structure of a graphene layer is still one of the biggest and most debated challenges in graphene electronics. Despite promising theoretical results, some experimental studies report the absence of a bandgap even in highly mechanically strained graphene. In this paper, we address the main reasons for these discrepancies and study the influence of uniaxial tensile and shear strains as well as their combinations on the eventual bandgap opening in monolayer graphene. Deformation-dependent bandgap diagrams are constructed over a wide range of the strain tensor parameters of up to 26%, which is close to predicted graphene breaking point. The use of a combination of shear strain and uniaxial tensile deformations is found to be the easiest way for bandgap opening and tuning. The results of our numerical calculations demonstrate that shear strains can induce a bandgap of up to 4 eV at the largest elastic deformations, while a combination of shear and uniaxial strains can provide an energy gap of up to 6 eV that is substantially higher than for some materials (including silicon) typically used in nanoelectronic devices. The numerically obtained findings are carefully contrasted with other results available in the literature.

Ultrathin devices are rapidly developing for skin‐compatible medical applications and wearable electronics. Powering skin‐interfaced electronics requires thin and lightweight energy storage devices, where solution‐processing enables scalable fabrication. To attain such devices, a sequential deposition is employed to achieve all spray‐coated symmetric microsupercapacitors (μSCs) on ultrathin parylene C substrates, where both electrode and gel electrolyte are based on the cheap and abundant biopolymer, cellulose. The optimized spraying procedure allows an overall device thickness of ≈11 µm to be obtained with a 40% active material volume fraction and a resulting volumetric capacitance of 7 F cm⁻³. Long‐term operation capability (90% of capacitance retention after 10⁴ cycles) and mechanical robustness are achieved (1000 cycles, capacitance retention of 98%) under extreme bending (rolling) conditions. Finite element analysis is utilized to simulate stresses and strains in real‐sized μSCs under different bending conditions. Moreover, an organic electrochromic display is printed and powered with two serially connected μ‐SCs as an example of a wearable, skin‐integrated, fully organic electronic application.

Objective. Electric stimulation delivered by implantable electrodes is a key component of neural engineering. While factors affecting long-term stability, safety, and biocompatibility are a topic of continuous investigation, a widely-accepted principle is that charge injection should be reversible, with no net electrochemical products forming. We want to evaluate oxygen reduction reactions (ORR) occurring at different electrode materials when using established materials and stimulation protocols. Approach. As stimulation electrodes, we have tested platinum, gold, tungsten, nichrome, iridium oxide, titanium, titanium nitride, and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate). We use cyclic voltammetry and voltage-step amperometry in oxygenated versus inert conditions to establish at which potentials ORR occurs, and the magnitudes of diffusion-limited ORR currents. We also benchmark the areal capacitance of each electrode material. We use amperometric probes (Clark-type electrodes) to quantify the O₂ and H₂O₂ concentrations in the vicinity of the electrode surface. O₂ and H₂O₂ concentrations are measured while applying DC current, or various biphasic charge-balanced pulses of amplitude in the range 10–30 µC cm⁻²/phase. To corroborate experimental measurements, we employ finite element modelling to recreate 3D gradients of O₂ and H₂O₂. Main results. All electrode materials support ORR and can create hypoxic conditions near the electrode surface. We find that electrode materials differ significantly in their onset potentials for ORR, and in the extent to which they produce H₂O₂ as a by-product. A key result is that typical charge-balanced biphasic pulse protocols do lead to irreversible ORR. Some electrodes induce severely hypoxic conditions, others additionally produce an accumulation of hydrogen peroxide into the mM range. Significance. Our findings highlight faradaic ORR as a critical consideration for neural interface devices and show that the established biphasic/charge-balanced approach does not prevent irreversible changes in O₂ concentrations. Hypoxia and H₂O₂ can result in different (electro)physiological consequences.

We show abrupt changes in the electronic properties of graphene with different types of binding to oxygen. Whereas oxygen bonded to the basal plane in the form of functional groups p -type dopes graphene, we prove that substitutional (i.e. in-plane) oxygen n -type dopes it. Moreover, we determine that impurity scattering potentials introduced by these substitutional atoms are notably larger than those of conventional donors, e.g. nitrogen. Both facts ultimately result in a conduction asymmetry in the system with holes being scattered more strongly than electrons. These findings provide essential insights into the impact of oxygen in carbon nanomaterials such as graphene oxide, oxidized carbon nanotubes or novel two-dimensional π -conjugated organic frameworks, promising compounds for a wide range of applications including flexible electronics, catalysis, energy storage or biomedicine.