Development of dicationic 1,2,4-triazolium salts and their application as solid-state electrolyte for energy storage

Abstract

Here, in this study we report the synthesis and characterizations of novel electrolyte based on dicationic salts 1,3-bis(1-alkyl-1,2,4-triazolium)mesitylene bis(tetrafluoroborate). Two cations were linked by mesitylene as spacer. Using 1H NMR, 13C NMR, FTIR and RAMAN spectroscopy methods the structural characterization of synthesized salts were done. Cyclic voltammetry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, thermogravimetry analysis, and differential scanning calorimetry have all been used to examine their thermal, electrochemical, and transport properties. Their suitability for energy storage was examined by fabricating a cell out of it in a Swagelok, where ionic liquid gel polymer electrolyte (ILGPE) was used as electrolyte and the graphite-PTFE sheet functioned as an electrode to construct a symmetrical EDLC. A wide working electrochemical potential window range of 0 to 4.5 V was obtained after studying the electrochemical cell performance, indicating that the dicationic salts can be employed as a promising electrolyte. It provided an effective areal capacitance of 63.13 F/cm2. Even after 2000 consecutive cycles of charging and discharging, the fabricated device continues to retain about 80 % of its initial capacitance. The GCD curves provided computed values for energy and power density of 1.1 μWh and 317.5 μW/cm2, respectively.