Gel Electrolyte Derived from Poly(ethylene glycol) Blending Poly(acrylonitrile) Applicable to Roll‐to‐Roll Assembly of Electric Double Layer Capacitors

TLDR

The study reports the synthesis of a gelled polymer electrolyte comprising PEG‑blended PAN, DMF plasticizer, and LiClO₄ salt for use in electric double layer capacitors. The GPE employs a linear PAN‑b‑PEG‑b‑PAN copolymer network that enhances ionic conductivity and lowers series and Warburg resistances in carbon‑based symmetric EDLCs. The resulting symmetric cell delivers 101 F g⁻¹ capacitance, 11.5 Wh kg⁻¹ energy at 10 kW kg⁻¹ power, retains performance after 30 000 cycles, and its tunable mechanical strength allows scalable roll‑to‑roll fabrication.

Abstract

Abstract The synthesis of a gelled polymer electrolyte (GPE) using poly(ethylene glycol) blending poly(acrylonitrile) (i.e., PAN‐ b ‐PEG‐ b ‐PAN) as a host, dimethyl formamide (DMF) as a plasticizer and LiClO 4 as an electrolytic salt for electric double layer capacitors (EDLCs) is reported. The PAN‐ b ‐PEG‐ b ‐PAN copolymer in the GPE has a linear configuration for high ionic conductivity and excellent compatibility with carbon electrodes. When assembling the GPE in a carbon‐based symmetric EDLC, the copolymer network facilitates ion motion by reducing the equivalent series resistance and Warburg resistance of the capacitor. This symmetric cell has a capacitance value of 101 F g −1 at 0.125 A g −1 and can deliver an energy level of 11.5 Wh kg −1 at a high power of 10 000 W kg −1 over a voltage window of 2.1 V. This cell shows superior stability, with little decay of specific capacitance after 30 000 galvanostatic charge‐discharge cycles. The distinctive merit of the GPE film is its adjustable mechanical integrity, which makes the roll‐to‐roll assembly of GPE‐based EDLCs readily scalable to industrial levels.