Dialkyl carbonates enforce energy storage as new dielectric liquids

Abstract

The performance of energy storage devices depends essentially on the quality and construction of their components. Capacitors store electrical charges being the most basic components of electronics. The application of suitable materials in capacitors may boost performance and suppress energy losses. In the present work, we employ atomistically precise simulations to investigate the improvement of physicochemical properties of an electrical capacitor by using novel dielectric liquids, such as dialkyl carbonates (DACs), to reinforce the conventional polymer dielectrics. We unveil and characterize molecular interactions between three DACs (diethyl carbonate, dioctyl carbonate, and didodecyl carbonate) and dielectric polymers – cellulose (CEL), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polypropylene (PP) – applied widely in modern capacitors. The obtained vast variety of structure and thermodynamic properties suggest that DACs are strongly enough coupled to the dielectric polymers. Furthermore, the length of the side alkyl chain can be successfully used to modulate the binding of DACs to CEL, PET, and PP separately. Therefore, the novel task-specific DACs for combined dielectric usage with the insulating polymers are hereby reported. The newly acquired physicochemical insights foster the development of more productive and sustainable energy storage devices.