A synchronous-twisting method to realize radial scalability in fibrous energy storage devices.

For wearable electronics, radial scalability is one of the key research areas for fibrous energy storage devices to be commercialized, but this field has been shelved for years due to the lack of effective methods and configuration arrangements. Here, the team presents a generalizable strategy to realize radial scalability by applying a synchronous-twisting method (STM) for synthesizing a coaxial-extensible configuration (CEC). As examples, aqueous fiber-shaped Zn-MnO batteries and MoS-MnO supercapacitors with a diameter of 500 μm and a length of 100 cm were made. Because of the radial scalability, uniform current distribution, and stable binding force in CEC, the devices not only have high energy densities (316 Wh liter for Zn-MnO batteries and ~107 Wh liter for MoS-MnO supercapacitors) but also maintain a stable operational state in textiles when external bending and tensile forces were applied. The fabricating method together with the radial scalability of the devices provides a reference for future fiber-shaped energy storage devices.