Pseudo-capacitors are attractive electrochemical energy storage devices for their superior rate performance over conventional batteries, and higher energy storage capacity over traditional capacitors. Despite the importance of these types of devices, their hybrid physics makes it difficult to simulate their performance; as such, a general and well-established physics-based mathematical model does not exist. Using MnO2 as a model pseudo-capacitive electrode, this work describes the electrochemical performance of the MnO2 electrode as two parallel redox reactions with independent exchange-current densities and thermodynamic relationships. One of the reactions mimics the fast time-constant of the near-surface reaction (typical in a pseudo-capacitor), while the second reaction has a larger time-constant, characteristic of insertion reactions. Both redox reactions could be parameterized through Butler-Volmer kinetics, and the time-constant of each reaction was controlled by its exchange current density, , and the sensitivity of the thermodynamic potential to the charge passed, . Because of this model’s simplicity and reliance on well-established mathematical descriptions of electrochemical kinetics and mass-transfer, it may have utility in modeling pseudo-capacitors in general, not just MnO2. In addition, the mathematical descriptions of the physics can be directly implemented with porous electrode theory, which is more amenable to mathematical device and component optimization.This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under Contract DE-AC52-07NA27344 and was supported by the LLNL-LDRD program under project 23-SI-002.
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