ChemElectroChem
ChemElectroChem
3 years ago

A Surprising Failure Mechanism in Symmetric Supercapacitors at High Voltages

A Surprising Failure Mechanism in Symmetric Supercapacitors at High Voltages
Arie Borenstein, Doron Aurbach, Ran Attias, Ortal Hanna, Shalom Luski, Richard B. Kaner
Ionic liquids (ILs) are attractive candidates for high-voltage electrochemical energy storage systems, owing to their high electrochemical stability. Recently, a unique eutectic mixture of ILs was reported to demonstrate outstanding performance in supercapacitor systems at low temperatures. Yet, many publications using this or similar IL mixtures reported only a limited voltage or cyclability when utilizing them with practical activated carbon electrodes. With supercapacitors consisting of symmetric electrodes, in which voltages higher than 3 V are applied, fast capacity fading and activity termination are observed. In order to exceed the limit of 3 V for supercapacitors that use electrolyte solutions possessing wide electrochemical windows, we thoroughly investigated the (unexpected) failure mechanism, using several analytical methods. This is the most important aspect of the paper. By this, we discovered a pronounced difference in the electrochemical behavior of the negative and the positive electrodes, which has significant implications on the operation of full symmetric cells at high voltages. Finally, we propose a solution that enables stable operation of cells up to 3.4 V. By balancing the mass of the electrodes, we prevent high-voltage failure and control the voltage split to use the full electrochemical window of each electrode and obtain a higher cell voltage of 3.4 V and an energy density higher than 40 Wh/kg (of the electrode materials). The most important aspect of this work was a rigorous study of the failure mechanism. Caps off: The eutectic ionic liquid (IL) mixture of PI13+ and PY14+ cations and FSI− anions is used to thoroughly investigate asymmetric phenomena in formally symmetric full cells that include this IL mixture in their electrolyte solution.

Publisher URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/resolve/doi

DOI: 10.1002/celc.201700421

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