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.
