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Title: Electric double layer capacitance for ionic liquids in nanoporous electrodes: Effects of pore size and ion composition

Journal Article · · Journal of Molecular Liquids

The energy density of an electric double layer (EDL) capacitor, a type of supercapacitor, depends on the ion distribution within the micropores of electrodes that are typically made of amorphous carbon. By using coarse-grained models and the classical density functional theory, we investigate the distributions of ionic species among different idealized nanopores in contact with an asymmetric ionic liquid mixture and the effects of the bulk electrolyte composition on capacitive energy storage. We find that a charged pore is always small-ion selective, provided all ions have the same valence and similar non-electrostatic interactions. While small ions enhance both the EDL capacitance and the accessibility of micropores, an ionic mixture containing ions of different sizes may yield a capacitance higher than those corresponding to pure ionic liquids. Furthermore, the increased capacitance may be attributed to more efficient ion packing near the charged surface. At certain conditions, the improvement is on a par with the anomalous capacitance rise for pure ionic liquids in electrodes with ultranarrow pores.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
1557520
Journal Information:
Journal of Molecular Liquids, Vol. 270, Issue C; ISSN 0167-7322
Publisher:
ElsevierCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 17 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (3)