Solid Ionogel Electrolytes for Flexible Charge Storage Applications

研究目标和方法。这项研究的目的是证明高性能，安全的电化学双层电容器（超级电容器）可以有效地在柔性基板上制造，将当今刚性和笨重的密封设备转变为轻质固态储能平台。该方法是利用原位固定化的离子液体与高表面积电极接触，形成一个灵活的离子凝胶电解质。电化学双层电容器可以满足许多电荷存储应用的需求，弥补了具有高能量密度的电池与可以通过快速放电提供高功率的陶瓷电容器之间的性能差距。初步结果表明，离子凝胶的电容行为可以几乎等同于纯离子液体，尽管从液体到凝胶的电解质相转化。该项目旨在通过扩大目前正在研究的凝胶配方范围，进一步优化离子凝胶性能，了解凝胶电解质/电极界面的电容行为，并将薄离子凝胶电解质薄膜集成到完全灵活的器件架构中。这项工作将对柔性电子领域产生直接和持久的影响，并推动离子凝胶作为高性能固体电解质材料的发展。研究活动将与科学教育，学生培训，并通过与代表性不足的少数民族高中生，研究生领导在当地能源会议，并开发新的课程材料的校园互动推广到更广泛的受众。

Research Objectives and Approaches. The objective of this research is to demonstrate that high-performance, safe electrochemical double layer capacitors (supercapacitors) can be effectively fabricated on flexible substrates, transforming the rigid and bulky sealed devices of today into lightweight, solid-state energy storage platforms. The approach is to utilize the in situ immobilization of an ionic liquid in contact with high surface area electrodes to form a flexible ionogel electrolyte.Intellectual Merit. Electrochemical double layer capacitors can meet the needs of many charge storage applications, bridging a gap in performance between batteries with high energy densities and ceramic capacitors that can provide high power through rapid discharge. Preliminary results indicate that ionogel capacitive behavior can be nearly equivalent to that of the neat ionic liquid, in spite of the electrolyte phase transformation from a liquid to a gel. This project seeks to further optimize ionogel performance by widening the range of gel formulations currently under study, to understand the capacitive behavior at the gel electrolyte/electrode interface, and to integrate thin ionogel electrolyte films into fully flexible device architectures.Broader Impacts. This work will make an immediate and lasting impact on the field of flexible electronics and advance the development of ionogels as high performance solid electrolyte materials. Research activities will be integrated with science education, student training, and outreach to a broader audience through on-campus interaction with underrepresented minority high school students, graduate student leadership at a local energy conference, and development of new course materials.