Mass Transport in “Water-in-Polymer Salt” Electrolytes
Journal article, 2023

“Water-in-polymer salt” electrolytes (WiPSEs) based on potassium polyacrylate (PAAK) belong to a new family of “water-in-salt” electrolytes that is envisioned as a potential solution for large-scale supercapacitors to balance the electric grid at short time scales. The WiPSEs display a broad electrochemical stability window up to 3 V, yet they are nonflammable and provide high ionic conductivity (100 mS/cm) as required in high-power devices. However, the transport of matter in PAAK-based WiPSEs has not been studied. In this work, we have extensively characterized PAAK by spectroscopic methods such as Raman spectroscopy and NMR diffusometry to determine the state of water and elucidate the mechanism of ionic transport as well as its interplay with water and polymer chain dynamics, which reveals that a significant proportion of the transport in WiPSEs is attributed to hydrated cations. The results are further supported by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. Finally, the potential of WiPSEs based on PAAK is demonstrated in an activated carbon-based supercapacitor operating up to 2 V with reasonable self-discharge. This proof of concept shows promise for low-cost and large-scale supercapacitors.

Author

Ziyauddin Khan

Linköping University

Anna Martinelli

Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Applied Chemistry

Leandro R. Franco

Karlstad University

Divyaratan Kumar

Linköping University

Alexander Idström

Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Applied Chemistry

Lars Evenäs

Chalmers, Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Applied Chemistry

C. Moyses Araujo

Uppsala University

Karlstad University

X. Crispin

Linköping University

Chemistry of Materials

0897-4756 (ISSN) 1520-5002 (eISSN)

Vol. 35 16 6382-6395

Subject Categories

Chemical Sciences

DOI

10.1021/acs.chemmater.3c01089

More information

Latest update

3/7/2024 9