The need for improved energy storage capability in supercapacitors has prompted the use of ionic liquids (ILs) as alternatives to acetonitrile based solvents. Despite the advantages of supercapacitors, their use in transportation is not favorable because of the deterioration of organic solvents with increasing temperatures and their high vapor pressures. We report here on the synthesis and characterization of ionic liquids optimized for use in supercapacitors. ILs based on pyrrolidinium, imidazolium and dicationic ammonium cations bearing ether substituents and bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [NTf2] anions have been synthesized, purified and characterized for their physical properties. The structures of the salts were confirmed using H-1 and C-13 Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy. The ILs were characterized for viscosity, conductivity and thermal profile. This work was supported in part at BNL by the DOE Office of Basic Energy Sciences, under contract # DE-AC02-98CH10886.

Ionic liquids for supercapacitor applications

244th National Meeting (2012)

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