Robust electrical component and an electrolyte for use in an electrical component

A supercapacitor comprising:

• a pair of electrodes;
• and
• a hydrogel electrolyte located between the pair of electrodes, the hydrogel electrolyte comprising:
• a polymer matrix including a first crosslinked structure and a second crosslinked structure;
• and an aqueous electrolyte solution including a polymer matrix within the aqueous electrolyte solution, wherein the aqueous electrolyte solution includes an ionic crosslinking agent including one or more ions that interact with the second crosslinked structure, wherein the first crosslinked structure includes a covalently bonded structure defined by a plurality of acrylamide chains forming at least one covalent bond with each other, wherein the second crosslinked structure includes an ionically bonded structure defined by a plurality of alginate chains forming at least one ionic bond with the ionic crosslinking agent, and wherein the first and the second crosslinked structures are arranged to cooperatively dissipate energy in response to mechanical loads applied onto the electrolyte such that electrochemical performance of the supercapacitor remains substantially unchanged upon the mechanical loads are applied and removed.

A method of constructing an electrical component comprising the steps of:

• forming a first electrode;
• forming a second electrode;
• forming an electrolyte;
• sandwiching the electrolyte between the first electrode and second electrode, the electrolyte comprising:
• a hydrogel including a first crosslinked structure and a second crosslinked structure;
• an aqueous solution including a polymer matrix within the aqueous solution, wherein the aqueous solution includes an ionic crosslinking agent including one or more ions that interact with the second crosslinked structure, wherein the first crosslinked structure includes a covalently bonded structure defined by a plurality of acrylamide chains forming at least one covalent bond with each other, wherein the second crosslinked structure includes an ionically bonded structure defined by a plurality of alginate chains forming at least one ionic bond with the ionic crosslinking agent, and wherein the first and the second crosslinked structures are arranged to cooperatively dissipate energy in response to mechanical loads applied onto the electrolyte such that electrochemical performance of the supercapacitor remains substantially unchanged upon the mechanical loads are applied and removed.

A method of forming a hydrogel electrolyte for use in an electrical component to provide the electrical component with mechanical robustness and substantially stable electrochemical performance in response to a mechanical load applied to the electrical component, wherein the method comprises the steps of:

• forming a mixture of a first gel monomer, an initiator and a crosslinking agent in deionized water;
• adding an alginate into the mixture to form a blend;
• curing the blend at room temperature or a higher temperature;
• and
• soaking the cured blend in an aqueous electrolyte solution.