Investigation of Supercapacitors using Molecular Dynamics Simulations

In today’s modern society, a wide range of electronic products, including mobile phones, laptops, cameras, pacemakers, hearing aids and electric vehicles, heavily rely on the energy storage technology behind them. Among promising candidates as future energy storage devices are batteries and electric double-layer supercapacitors (EDLSC). A striking difference between these two systems is that no chemical reactions occur on the electrodes of an EDLSC and energy is stored via ion adsorption on the electrodes, whereas energy is generated through chemical reactions involving the electrodes of a battery. Batteries are suitable for long-term energy storage whereas EDLSCs are ideal for repeated short-term power delivery, such as repetitive breaking in electric vehicles. In general, batteries possess high energy density whereas EDLSCs have high power density. However, energy storage devices often need to meet both power density and energy density requirements, so developing devices that achieve both is of importance. To advance the utility of EDLCS, it is vital to understand the molecular-level formation of charge layers in the vicinity of electrodes, or the electric double layers (EDLs) as this is a key factor for their performance.This project investigates the molecular-level behaviour of ionic liquids in the EDLs in response to applied potential difference.