Ionic shot noise in an electrochemical capacitor system made of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) film and silver-coated polybenzoxazole-stainless steel electrodes on textile fabrics

Unusual noisy discharge profiles were observed from some of our textile-based energy storage devices having asymmetrical electrodes consisting of pure stainless steel and silver-coated polybenzoxazole yarns. Our hypothesis was that it was due to the ionic shot noise behavior that occurred in electrochemical devices and is a well-known phenomenon in electronic devices. The poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)-poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) polymer coverage on the cell surface, which functioned as a solid electrolyte in this system, was believed to play an important role. To confirm this assumption, devices made with different drop-coating strategies to obtain thin and thick layers of PEDOT:PSS polymer on the cell surface were prepared. The noisy discharge profiles were observed from devices with thin polymer layers, while those with thick layers exhibited normal discharge profiles. The morphology of cell surfaces was characterized by a stereo microscope. Cross-section analysis of a device with a thick layer was employed to further characterize its film formation and elemental properties using Scanning Electron Microscopy-Electron Dispersive Spectroscopy. Formation of multilayers of PEDOT:PSS polymer on the cell surface allowed a continuous interaction between electrode metals and PEDOT:PSS ions at the interface area. The noisy component was caused by the movement of silver ions hopping from one trap to the next. A qualitative model of the autocorrelation function executed to the data with noisy behavior further confirmed the ionic shot noise phenomenon.