The development of powerful mobile devices, electrically driven cars, and renewable intermittent energy production fuels the ever-increasing demand for higher power and energy density in electrochemical energy storage devices.
One proposed way to achieve this goal is the creation of a device which uses materials from batteries and supercapacitors, called a hybrid energy storage device.
This project focuses on the computational screening of ionic liquid electrolyte for multivalent hybrid ion capacitors with the goal of being able to discover promising candidates for use in such a device.
In addition to running bulk calculations to elucidate the solvent structure and calculate properties such as electrochemical window, viscosity, and diffusivity, we are considering electrolyte confined in different nanoporous carbon electrodes.
A lithium-sulfur battery is a next-generation energy storage system that uses sulfur as the cathode and lithium as the anode, offering a much higher theoretical energy density than traditional lithium-ion batteries. It is lightweight and cost-effective but faces challenges like rapid capacity fading and poor cycle life due to the shuttle effect of lithium polysulfides.
A lithium-ion battery is a widely used rechargeable energy storage system that typically employs a lithium-based compound as the cathode and graphite as the anode. Despite their widespread adoption, they face limitations such as safety concerns, aging over time, and relatively high cost due to the use of critical raw materials like cobalt and nickel.
A monovalent battery operates using singly charged ions like lithium (Li⁺), sodium (Na⁺), or potassium (K⁺), enabling reliable ion transport and well-established electrochemistry. While offering good performance and cycle life, their energy density is generally lower than that of multivalent systems mainly due to less number of electron transfer per ion.
A multivalent battery uses ions like magnesium (Mg²⁺), calcium (Ca²⁺), or aluminum (Al³⁺), allowing for the transfer of multiple electrons per ion and potentially higher energy density. These systems promise improved safety and lower cost but are still in early development phase. They also face challenges with ion mobility and compatible electrolytes.