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Functionalized Agarose Self‐Healing Ionogels Suitable for Supercapacitors
Author(s) -
Trivedi Tushar J.,
Bhattacharjya Dhrubajyoti,
Yu JongSung,
Kumar Arvind
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
chemsuschem
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.412
H-Index - 157
eISSN - 1864-564X
pISSN - 1864-5631
DOI - 10.1002/cssc.201500648
Subject(s) - agarose , ionic liquid , supercapacitor , electrolyte , materials science , chemical engineering , self healing , chemistry , organic chemistry , capacitance , chromatography , electrode , engineering , catalysis , medicine , alternative medicine , pathology
Agarose has been functionalized (acetylated/carbanilated) in an ionic liquid (IL) medium of 1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium acetate at ambient conditions. The acetylated agarose showed a highly hydrophobic nature, whereas the carbanilated agarose could be dissolved in water as well as in the IL medium. Thermoreversible ionogels were obtained by cooling the IL sols of carbanilated agarose at room temperature. The ionogel prepared from a protic–aprotic mixed‐IL system (1‐butyl‐3‐methylimidazolium chloride and N ‐(2‐hydroxyethyl)ammonium formate) demonstrated a superior self‐healing property, as confirmed from rheological measurements. The superior self‐healing property of such an ionogel has been attributed to the unique inter–intra hydrogen‐bonding network of functional groups inserted in the agarose. The ionogel was tested as a flexible solid electrolyte for an activated‐carbon‐based supercapacitor cell. The measured specific capacitance was found to be comparable with that of a liquid electrolyte system at room temperature and was maintained for up to 1000 charge–discharge cycles. Such novel functionalized‐biopolymer self‐healing ionogels with flexibility and good conductivity are desirable for energy‐storage devices and electronic skins with superior lifespans and robustness.