PAN@AuPd@MnO2 Core-Shell Nanopillars for High-Performance Electrochemical Energy Storage

Fabrication of highly ordered nanostructures over a large and flexible substrate area has attracted considerable attentions in recent years due to its increasing applicability in potential markets such as energy storage devices, smart paper, displays, etc. Thermal nanoimprint lithography (T-NIL) has become a promising candidate for preparing nanoscale structures since it can print nanostructure in a very short time. However, only thermoplastic materials without a cross-linking reaction during heating process can be printed through T-NIL. Moreover, it is challenging to print a large nanostructured area using T-NIL since it requires a heating and cooling treatment each time a structure needs to be printed. Here, we present a facile method called spin-on nanoprinting (SNAP) to print large area well-ordered nanostructures. We have successfully printed a 1 cm × 1cm footprint with nanostructures within 3 minutes without using any expensive equipment. Moreover, a large nanostructured area can be easily printed by stitching one film next to another. In addition, it is possible to print these structures on a flexible substrate. We have successfully fabricated nanostructured electrode for supercapacitors using SNAP. Our nanostructured electrodes show remarkable charge/discharge ability, high power and energy densities, and good cycle stability. The simplicity of the nanoarchitectured electrodes and their phenomenal performances has shown promising features for future energy storage systems.