Development of gel electrolyte for energy storage operable in extreme environments

Abstract

Hydrogel electrolytes, as soft materials containing water, are widely utilized in various electrochemical devices due to their excellent ionic conductivity and flexibility. However, water-based hydrogel electrolytes are limited to operating within a temperature range of 0-100 ℃. In this study, we propose a glycol gel electrolyte designed to operate in extreme environments and a supercapacitor utilizing it. We used propylene glycol and butylene glycol, which have high boiling and low freezing points. The glycol gel electrolyte was optimized for improved adhesion, increasing compatibility, and reducing resistance at the electrode interface. As a result, the electrochemical properties, including cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic charge-discharge (GCD), demonstrated outstanding performance at both extremely low and high temperatures. This presentation describes the design and development of a robust glycol gel electrolyte with excellent electrode compatibility and performance as a supercapacitor over a wide temperature range.