Ionogel Electrolytes for Electrical Energy Storage Applications

In order to implement electrical energy generation, conversion, and storage solutions on a truly widespread scale, careful attention should be paid to the energy input requirements necessary to fabricate optoelectronic devices. To this end, we believe that low-temperature, ambient pressure, solution-based deposition techniques are highly desirable. A burgeoning demand for portable electronics, as well as an expanding global portfolio of intermittent electricity generation sources both highlight the critical need to develop reliable, safe, and efficient energy storage technologies. Recently, our group has been advancing two parallel approaches to form solid electrolyte films based on room temperature ionic liquids (termed ionogels) for electrochemical energy storage device applications. The first method utilizes free radical-initiated polymerization inside an ionic liquid to produce a composite gel, while the second approach employs an acid-catalyzed sol gel reaction network to create an inorganic oxide or polymeric support for the ionic liquid in situ.  Ionogels are inherently safer than widely used liquid solvent-based electrolytes due to their nonvolatile and no-leak nature. Optimization of ionic conductivity for fast charging and discharging in supercapacitor structures or batteries within the constraints of minimum gel mechanical integrity will be discussed. In the best-case scenario, ionogels retain nearly identical electrical properties as compared to their constituent neat ionic liquids while providing sufficient flexibility and robustness for intended future applications. This seminar will provide a summary of our latest ionogel material and device developments to date, as well as a discussion of our recent work exploring the recovery and recyclability of ionic liquids from ionogels using a water-driven separation process with an extremely low energy requirement.

Matthew Panzer is an Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical & Biological Engineering at Tufts University in Medford, MA. He obtained an Honors Bachelor of Chemical Engineering with Distinction degree from the University of Delaware, and earned his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering at the University of Minnesota under the direction of Prof. C. Daniel Frisbie with a thesis entitled “Polymer Electrolyte-Gated Organic Field-Effect Transistors.” Before coming to Tufts, Dr. Panzer spent two years in the Research Laboratory of Electronics at MIT as a Postdoctoral Associate in the laboratory of Prof. Vladimir Bulović. He has been the recipient of a Massachusetts Clean Energy Center Catalyst Program Award (2012), a NSF Graduate Research Fellowship, an IGERT for Nanoparticle Science & Engineering Graduate Fellowship, and the Eugene duPont Memorial Distinguished Scholar Award. In 2014, Dr. Panzer received the Recognition of Undergraduate Teaching Excellence (ROUTE) Award from Tufts University. His current research interests are focused on novel materials and architectures for realizing solution-processed optoelectronics, including supercapacitors, solar cells, thin film transistors, and light-emitting devices.