Structural Evolution Governs Reversible Heat Generation in Electrical Double Layers

Electrical double layer (EDL) formation determines the reversible heat generation of supercapacitors. While classical theories suggest an exothermic nature, experiments revealed that it can be endothermic, depending on the polarization and electrolyte. Here, we perform constant-potential molecular dynamics simulations and develop a lattice gas model to explore the reversible heat of EDL formation in aqueous and ionic liquid (IL) electrolytes. Our Letter reveals that EDL formation in aqueous electrolytes exhibits endothermicity under negative polarization; it shows new complexity of endothermicity followed by exothermicity in ILs, regardless of electrode polarity. These thermal behaviors are determined by the structural evolution during EDL formation, dominated by adsorbed solvent molecules rather than ions in aqueous electrolytes but governed by "demixing" and "vacancy occupation" phenomena in ILs. This Letter provides new insights into the reversible heat of supercapacitors and presents a theoretical approach to investigating thermal behaviors involving the dynamics of EDLs.