Polymers have been previously used as insulators and other structural materials, but when combined with appropriate salts in the liquid state (ionic liquid), there is an increase in ionic conductivity and other advantages over the conventional electrolytes. In this study, we harness this increase in conductivity for the use of polymers as electrolytes in energy storage device. The biocompatible ionic liquid electrolyte is prepared by conjugating the biopolymer such as Gelatin Methacrylol (GelMA), Polyethylene glycol diacrylate (PEGDA) and ionic liquid (IL), choline acrylate synthesized based on the reaction between choline bi-tartrate and acrylic acid. An increase of ionic liquid concentration exhibits a well-defined discharge voltage plateau of ~0.5–0.8V with a conductivity of 8.5×10-4 –3.5×10-3 S/m in both the polymers. The biopolymer- ionic liquid electrolyte was also tested as electrochemical capacitor based on graphene synthesized as the electroactive material, exhibits a specific capacitance of 42 – 325 F/g at a current density of 1 A/g in a three electrode system. Also, the polymer ionic liquid electrolyte has a compression modulus of 85 KPa and a tensile modulus of 115 KPa, at the highest percentage concentration of ionic liquid (20% GelMA, 20% PEGDA with 20% IL) which allows the device to be fabricated in a thin film manner with increased mechanical flexibility. These mechanical properties allow the electrolyte to be 3D printed and fabricated in microscale. Implantable power sources built with biocompatible and biodegradable materials are of growing interest for the future implantable medical device. The electrolyte synthesized exhibits good electrochemical stability and biodegradability, in cases where it is hard to access the implanted location such as intravascular applications biodegradable implants are favorable. The integration of an eco-friendly, biocompatible ionic liquid electrolyte provides a new perspective on energy storage.

Biocompatible and biodegradable ionic liquid polymer composite as electrolyte for energy storage device

256th National Meeting (2018)

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