Water in the electrical double layer of ionic liquids on graphene
File(s)acsnano.3c01043.pdf (6.46 MB)
Published version
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The performance of electrochemical devices using ionic liquids (ILs) as electrolytes can be impaired by water uptake. This work investigates the influence of water on the behavior of hydrophilic and hydrophobic ILs─with ethylsulfate and tris(perfluoroalkyl)trifluorophosphate or bis(trifluoromethyl sulfonyl)imide (TFSI) anions, respectively─on electrified graphene, a promising electrode material. The results show that water uptake slightly reduces the IL electrochemical stability and significantly influences graphene's potential of zero charge, which is justified by the extent of anion depletion from the surface. Experiments confirm the dominant contribution of graphene's quantum capacitance (CQ) to the total interfacial capacitance (Cint) near the PZC, as expected from theory. Combining theory and experiments reveals that the hydrophilic IL efficiently screens surface charge and exhibits the largest double layer capacitance (CIL ∼ 80 μF cm-2), so that CQ governs the charge stored. The hydrophobic ILs are less efficient in charge screening and thus exhibit a smaller capacitance (CIL ∼ 6-9 μF cm-2), which governs Cint already at small potentials. An increase in the total interfacial capacitance is observed at positive voltages for humid TFSI-ILs relative to dry ones, consistent with the presence of a satellite peak. Short-range surface forces reveal the change of the interfacial layering with potential and water uptake owing to reorientation of counterions, counterion binding, co-ion repulsion, and water enrichment. These results are consistent with the charge being mainly stored in a ∼2 nm-thick double layer, which implies that ILs behave as highly concentrated electrolytes. This knowledge will advance the design of IL-graphene-based electrochemical devices.
Date Issued
2023-05
Date Acceptance
2023-05-05
Citation
ACS Nano, 2023, 17 (10), pp.9347-9360
ISSN
1936-0851
Publisher
American Chemical Society
Start Page
9347
End Page
9360
Journal / Book Title
ACS Nano
Volume
17
Issue
10
Copyright Statement
© 2023 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37163519
Subjects
capacitance
electrical double layer
force measurements
graphene
ionic liquids
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
United States
Date Publish Online
2023-05-10