Gel Electrolyte Derived from Poly(ethylene glycol) Blending Poly(acrylonitrile) Applicable to Roll‐to‐Roll Assembly of Electric Double Layer Capacitors

Abstract The synthesis of a gelled polymer electrolyte (GPE) using poly(ethylene glycol) blending poly(acrylonitrile) (i.e., PAN‐ b ‐PEG‐ b ‐PAN) as a host, dimethyl formamide (DMF) as a plasticizer and LiClO 4 as an electrolytic salt for electric double layer capacitors (EDLCs) is reported. The PAN‐ b ‐PEG‐ b ‐PAN copolymer in the GPE has a linear configuration for high ionic conductivity and excellent compatibility with carbon electrodes. When assembling the GPE in a carbon‐based symmetric EDLC, the copolymer network facilitates ion motion by reducing the equivalent series resistance and Warburg resistance of the capacitor. This symmetric cell has a capacitance value of 101 F g −1 at 0.125 A g −1 and can deliver an energy level of 11.5 Wh kg −1 at a high power of 10 000 W kg −1 over a voltage window of 2.1 V. This cell shows superior stability, with little decay of specific capacitance after 30 000 galvanostatic charge‐discharge cycles. The distinctive merit of the GPE film is its adjustable mechanical integrity, which makes the roll‐to‐roll assembly of GPE‐based EDLCs readily scalable to industrial levels.