Investigation of surfactant micelles on the performance of a gel-polymer electrolyte

• Published in: International journal of hydrogen energy Vol. 73; pp. 191 - 202
• Main Authors: Prakash, Abhishek, De, Shounak, Holla, Sowmya R., Nayak, Ramakrishna, Selvaraj, Subbalaxmi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 04-07-2024
• Subjects: Flexible solid-state supercapacitor; Gel polymer electrolyte; Micelles; Surfactant; Gel polymer electrolyte; Surfactant; Micelles; Flexible solid-state supercapacitor
• ISSN: 0360-3199; 1879-3487
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijhydene.2024.06.032

This work focuses on studying the effect of Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate (SDS) at its critical micelle concentration (CMC) on the performance of ion conducting gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs) for supercapacitors. By incorporating SDS at its CMC, the morphology of GPE were altered, leading to improved ion transport properties. Additionally, SDS influenced the electrode-electrolyte interface, resulting in modifications to the charge storage mechanisms and capacitance values. The GPE exhibited a high ionic conductivity of 5.6 mS/cm. The resulting supercapacitor demonstrated exceptional performance with respect to the blank supercapacitor, including high specific capacitance, energy density, as well as low self-discharge characteristics. The specific capacitance of the supercapacitor was measured to be 18.01 Fg-1, while the energy density reached 0.362 Wh/kg. Furthermore, the supercapacitor exhibited a power density of 2.00 kW/kg. The electrolyte was analysed using impedance studies to study the effects of SDS micelles on the properties of the electrolyte film. The GPE was sandwiched between two Laser Induced Graphene (LIG) electrodes prepared from (Polyimide) PI Sheets. Cyclic Voltammetry (CV), Galvanostatic Charge-discharge (GCD), and Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) was done to study the electrochemical characteristics of the supercapacitors.
[Display omitted]
•SDS micelles was used to improve the ion-transport of the PVA-Ammonium Acetate-based Gel-polymer electrolyte.•Presence of micelles showed an improvement in conductivity and dielectric properties.•Micelle modified electrolyte shows significant reduction in charge-transfer resistance and solution resistance.•Micelle modified electrolyte reduced self-discharge, retaining 35% of its initial voltage.