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Updated: Mar 2, 2026
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Synthesis of Ionic Liquid Based Electrolytes, Assembly of Li-ion Batteries, and Measurements of Performance at High Temperature
Published on: December 20, 2016
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Ionic Liquids: evidence of the viscosity scale-dependence
Quentin Berrod1,2, Filippo Ferdeghini1,3, Jean-Marc Zanotti4
1Laboratoire Léon Brillouin, CEA, CNRS, Université Paris-Saclay, CEA Saclay, 91191, Gif-sur-Yvette, Cedex, France.
Scientific Reports
|May 24, 2017
Summary
Ionic liquids (ILs) self-organize into nanometric aggregates, impacting cation diffusion. This difference in diffusion at different scales limits the performance of IL-based batteries.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Electrochemistry
- Physical Chemistry
Background:
- Ionic liquids (ILs) are co-solvent-free molecular electrolytes with high stability.
- Their unique properties stem from electrostatic and van der Waals interactions, causing self-organization into nanometric aggregates.
- This transient structuration has been difficult to experimentally assess.
Purpose of the Study:
- To experimentally investigate the nanometric self-organization of imidazolium-based ionic liquids.
- To reveal the impact of this self-organization on cation self-diffusion.
- To understand limitations imposed by diffusion behavior on IL performance in energy storage.
Main Methods:
- Utilized particle-probe rheology to probe the structure and dynamics of ionic liquids.
- Measured cation self-diffusion coefficients at both nanometric and microscopic scales.
- Focused on an imidazolium-based ionic liquid system.
Main Results:
- Successfully captured the phenomenon of transient nanometric aggregate formation in ionic liquids.
- Observed a significant, one-order-of-magnitude difference in cation self-diffusion coefficients depending on the measurement scale.
- Identified this scale-dependent diffusion as a key factor influencing ionic conductivity.
Conclusions:
- The self-organization of ionic liquids into fluctuating nanometric aggregates is experimentally verifiable.
- Scale-dependent cation diffusion presents a critical limitation for ionic liquid performance in batteries.
- Further research is needed to harness or mitigate this effect for improved energy storage devices.
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