Local Ordered Structure of Propylene Carbonate in Slit-Shaped Carbon Nanopores by GCMC Simulation

Abstract EN

An electric double-layer capacitor (EDLC) has high potential for storing electrical energy at a high power density.

It was reported that a narrow nanopore system provides higher performance of EDLCs.

In such a system, propylene carbonate (PC) is generally used as a solvent in EDLCs.

Hence, the structure of PC in the slit-shaped carbon nanopores should be investigated to reveal the EDLC mechanism.

In this paper, grand canonical Monte Carlo simulation of PC adsorbed in nanopores was performed to elucidate molecular-level understanding of the influence of PC on the EDLC performance.

PC molecules have a highly ordered structure and longer intermolecular distances in nanopores of a pore width less than 0.7 nm.

Thus, the highly ordered and low-density structure formation of the adsorbed PC molecules in narrow nanopores provides a permeation path for electrolytes through nanopores, indicating high-performance EDLCs.