NaOH as an Aqueous Electrolyte to Improve the Performance of Electric Double-Layer Capacitors—A Molecular Dynamics Study

Aqueous electrolytes are widely used in supercapacitors (SCs) because of their high stability, wide voltage window, and safety features at elevated temperatures. Among alkaline electrolytes, KOH is most commonly used, and other electrolytes are less addressed. In this work, we meticulously investiga...

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Main Authors: Lifeng Ni, Jin Yu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-04-01
Series:Nanomaterials
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/15/9/649
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author Lifeng Ni
Jin Yu
author_facet Lifeng Ni
Jin Yu
author_sort Lifeng Ni
collection DOAJ
description Aqueous electrolytes are widely used in supercapacitors (SCs) because of their high stability, wide voltage window, and safety features at elevated temperatures. Among alkaline electrolytes, KOH is most commonly used, and other electrolytes are less addressed. In this work, we meticulously investigated the diffusion behavior of Na+ and K+ in aqueous electrolytes going through hierarchical porous activated carbon materials by employing molecular dynamic simulations. Our results show that the diffusion coefficient of NaOH is much larger than that of KOH under different concentrations, electric fields, and temperatures. We attributed this to the radical of ions going through the mesopores with layered structures. The advantage of high diffusion and low cost of NaOH electrolyte suggests that it could be a potential candidate to improve the performance of SCs.
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series Nanomaterials
spelling doaj-art-c28165e67c8e484aa4cc928cd5c2b1bd2025-08-20T03:49:22ZengMDPI AGNanomaterials2079-49912025-04-0115964910.3390/nano15090649NaOH as an Aqueous Electrolyte to Improve the Performance of Electric Double-Layer Capacitors—A Molecular Dynamics StudyLifeng Ni0Jin Yu1Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mechanics in Energy Engineering, School of Mechanics and Engineering Science, Shanghai Institute of Applied Mathematics and Mechanics, Shanghai University, Shanghai Frontier Science Center of Mechanoinformatics, Shanghai 200072, ChinaShanghai Key Laboratory of Mechanics in Energy Engineering, School of Mechanics and Engineering Science, Shanghai Institute of Applied Mathematics and Mechanics, Shanghai University, Shanghai Frontier Science Center of Mechanoinformatics, Shanghai 200072, ChinaAqueous electrolytes are widely used in supercapacitors (SCs) because of their high stability, wide voltage window, and safety features at elevated temperatures. Among alkaline electrolytes, KOH is most commonly used, and other electrolytes are less addressed. In this work, we meticulously investigated the diffusion behavior of Na+ and K+ in aqueous electrolytes going through hierarchical porous activated carbon materials by employing molecular dynamic simulations. Our results show that the diffusion coefficient of NaOH is much larger than that of KOH under different concentrations, electric fields, and temperatures. We attributed this to the radical of ions going through the mesopores with layered structures. The advantage of high diffusion and low cost of NaOH electrolyte suggests that it could be a potential candidate to improve the performance of SCs.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/15/9/649NaOH electrolyteelectric double layersupercapacitors
spellingShingle Lifeng Ni
Jin Yu
NaOH as an Aqueous Electrolyte to Improve the Performance of Electric Double-Layer Capacitors—A Molecular Dynamics Study
Nanomaterials
NaOH electrolyte
electric double layer
supercapacitors
title NaOH as an Aqueous Electrolyte to Improve the Performance of Electric Double-Layer Capacitors—A Molecular Dynamics Study
title_full NaOH as an Aqueous Electrolyte to Improve the Performance of Electric Double-Layer Capacitors—A Molecular Dynamics Study
title_fullStr NaOH as an Aqueous Electrolyte to Improve the Performance of Electric Double-Layer Capacitors—A Molecular Dynamics Study
title_full_unstemmed NaOH as an Aqueous Electrolyte to Improve the Performance of Electric Double-Layer Capacitors—A Molecular Dynamics Study
title_short NaOH as an Aqueous Electrolyte to Improve the Performance of Electric Double-Layer Capacitors—A Molecular Dynamics Study
title_sort naoh as an aqueous electrolyte to improve the performance of electric double layer capacitors a molecular dynamics study
topic NaOH electrolyte
electric double layer
supercapacitors
url https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/15/9/649
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AT jinyu naohasanaqueouselectrolytetoimprovetheperformanceofelectricdoublelayercapacitorsamoleculardynamicsstudy