Novel insight into neutral medium as electrolyte for high-voltage supercapacitors

Abstract

This paper is focused on neutral aqueous medium, i.e.lithium, sodium and potassium sulfate solutions in a wide range of concentrations (0.1–2.5 mol L⁻¹) as promising electrolytes for electrochemical capacitors because they are cheap, non-corrosive and allow applying diverse current collectors. These properties make the capacitor assembling process much easier and cheaper. Additionally, such electrolytes are electrochemically stable and environmentally friendly. Electrochemical investigations carried out especially for 1 mol L⁻¹Li₂SO₄ aqueous solution confirmed the possibility of efficient capacitor work in a wider voltage range, i.e. even at 2.2 V without any significant capacitance fade during 15 000 cycles. The physicochemical properties of ions (i.e. solvation, diffusion or mobility) and their influence on the capacitor electrochemical behaviour are considered.