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Capacitance of Carbon Nanotube/Graphene Composite Electrodes with [BMIM+][BF$$_4^–$$]/Acetonitrile: Fixed Voltage Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Journal Article · · Journal of Physical Chemistry. C
 [1]
  1. Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States); Georgia Institute of Technology
The capacitance of nanoporous carbon electrode materials is dictated by the physical interactions with electrolyte ions and molecules at the accessible interior electrode surface. While significant progress has been made in designing and synthesizing carbon materials with well-defined and relatively homogeneous nanoporosity, the majority of materials remain heterogeneous, and the resulting properties reflect an average over this distribution. In this regard, computer simulations can be a valuable tool to predict or validate structure/property relationships by systematically investigating well-defined, model electrode morphologies. In this work, we utilize fixed-voltage molecular dynamics simulations to predict structure/capacitance relationships for five different model morphologies of carbon nanotube/graphene (CNT/G) composite electrodes with 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate/acetonitrile electrolyte. The CNT/G electrode models are inspired by experimental “layer-by-layer” syntheses and strike a balance between realism and computational tractability. Comparison between different model electrode architectures elucidates important structure/property relationships. We find that CNT/graphene contact points serve as “hot spots” with significantly enhanced charge separation relative to the rest of the electrode. Furthermore, we demonstrate a specific nanoconfinement motif that provides substantial 3–4$$\times$$ enhancement of local capacitance, resulting in a ~40% increase of the total electrode differential capacitance. Because the accessible surface area of the model CNT/G electrodes is precisely determined, a comparison of per-area capacitance across systems is unambiguous. Our results thus complement a prior computational demonstration of capacitance enhancement in nanoconfinement while elucidating additional interaction motifs at CNT/G electrochemical interfaces.
Research Organization:
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0020279
OSTI ID:
1864703
Journal Information:
Journal of Physical Chemistry. C, Journal Name: Journal of Physical Chemistry. C Journal Issue: 13 Vol. 126; ISSN 1932-7447
Publisher:
American Chemical SocietyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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