1-Ethyl-3-methylimidazolium trifluoromethanesulfonate-based gel polymer electrolyte for application in electrochemical double-layer capacitors

Abstract

Electrochemical double-layer capacitors (EDLCs) have received an enormous attraction for energy storage applications due to their unique features to meet the high demand of energy in the world. At present, there is a substantial interest on cheap and safe energy storage devices, and hence, the present investigation was carried out to fabricate an EDLC using natural graphite electrodes and an ionic liquid (IL)-based gel polymer electrolyte (GPE). Electrolyte was prepared using the IL 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium trifluoromethanesulfonate (1E3MITF) with the polymer poly(vinylidenefluoride)-co-hexafluoropropylene and the salt zinc trifluoromethanesulfonate (ZnTF). The electrochemical properties of the EDLC were evaluated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), cyclic voltammetry (CV), and galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD) test. It was found from the CV test that the EDLC exhibits a single-electrode specific capacitance of 7.95 Fg−1. With the GCD results, a discharge capacitance of 1.01 Fg−1 was obtained. In addition, a good cyclic stability was observed. The EDLC with this novel IL-based GPE can be used for the energy applications with further enhancements.