Ionic Liquid Mixture Electrolyte Matching Porous Carbon Electrodes for Supercapacitors

Ionic liquids (ILs), with their wide electrochemical stable potential window, are promising electrolytes for supercapacitors (SCs). The suitable matching of the ion size and shape of the ILs to the pore size and structure of porous carbon (PC) electrode materials can realize the enhanced capacitive performance of the SCs. Here we report an interesting result: The capacitance of PC-based SCs shows a quasi-sinusoidal relationship with the composition (mass fraction) of the binary IL mixture as the electrolyte. This relationship is also interpreted based on the matching between the pore sizes of the PC materials and the size/shape of various ions of the IL mixture electrolyte. This can provide a new strategy to improve the performance of SCs by formulating a suitable mixture of different ILs to match the carbon-based electrode materials with a special pore size distribution.

Automated summary

This study investigates the relationship between the pore size of porous carbon electrode materials and the ion size and shape of ionic liquids, showing potential for improving the capacitive performance of supercapacitors. Matching different IL mixtures with carbon-based electrode materials of specific pore size distributions could offer a new strategy to enhance supercapacitor performance.