Engineering Simulations

Over recent years, ionic liquids have emerged as a class of novel fluids that have inspired the development of a number of new products and processes. The ability to design these materials with specific functionalities and properties means that they are highly relevant to the growing philosophy of chemical-product design. This is particularly appropriate in the context of a chemical industry that is becoming increasingly focussed on small-volume, high-value added products with relatively short times to market. To support such product and process development, a number of tools can be utilised. A key requirement is that the tool can predict the physical properties and activity coefficients of multi-component mixtures and, if required, model the process in which the materials will be used. Multi-scale simulations that span density functional theory (DFT) to process-engineering computations can address the relevant time and length scales and have increased in usage with the availability of cheap and powerful computers. Herein we will discuss the area of engineering calculations relating to the design of ionic liquid processes, that is, the computational tools that bridge this gap and allow for process simulation tools to utilise and assist in the design of ionic liquids. It will be shown that, at present, it is possible to use available tools to estimate many important properties of ionic liquids and mixtures containing them with a sufficient level of accuracy for preliminary design and selection.

Effect of the Electrolyte Formulation on the Performances of Edlc and Li-Ion Batteries

One of the most important components in electrochemical storage devices (batteries and supercapacitors) is undoubtedly the electrolyte. The basic function of any electrolyte in these systems is the transport of ions between the positive and negative electrodes. In addition, electrochemical reactions occurring at each electrode/electrolyte interface are the origin of the current generated by storage devices. In other words, performances (capacity, power, efficiency and energy) of electrochemical storage devices are strongly related to the electrolyte properties, as well as, to the affinity for the electrolyte to selected electrode materials. Indeed, the formulation of electrolyte presenting good properties, such as high ionic conductivity and low viscosity, is then required to enhance the charge transfer reaction at electrode/electrolyte interface (e.g. charge accumulation in the case of Electrochemical Double Layer Capacitor, EDLC). For practical and safety considerations, the formulation of novel electrolytes presenting a low vapor pressure, a large liquid range temperature, a good thermal and chemical stabilities is also required.

This lecture will be focused on the effect of the electrolyte formulation on the performances of electrochemical storage devices (Li-ion batteries and supercapacitors). During which, a summary of the physical, thermal and electrochemical data obtained by our group, recently, on the formulation of novel electrolyte-based on the mixture of an ionic liquid (such as EmimNTf2 and Pyr14NTf2) and carbonate or dinitrile solvents will be presented and commented. The impact of the electrolyte formulation on the storage performances of EDLC and Li-ion batteries will be also discussed to further understand the relationship between electrolyte formulation and electrochemical performances. This talk will also be an opportunity to further discuss around the effects of additives (SEI builder: fluoroethylene carbonate and vinylene carbonate), ionic liquids, structure and nature of lithium salt (LiTFSI vs LiPF6) on the cyclability of negative electrode to then enhance the electrolyte formulation. For that, our recent results on TiSnSb and graphite negative electrodes will be presented and discussed, for example 1,2.

1-C. Marino, A. Darwiche1, N. Dupré, H.A. Wilhelm, B. Lestriez, H. Martinez, R. Dedryvère, W. Zhang, F. Ghamouss, D. Lemordant, L. Monconduit “ Study of the Electrode/Electrolyte Interface on Cycling of a Conversion Type Electrode Material in Li Batteries” J. Phys.chem. C, 2013, 117, 19302-19313

2- Mouad Dahbi, Fouad Ghamouss, Mérièm Anouti, Daniel Lemordant, François Tran-Van “Electrochemical lithiation and compatibility of graphite anode using glutaronitrile/dimethyl carbonate mixtures containing LiTFSI as electrolyte” 2013, 43, 4, 375-385.

High Pressure Speed of Sound and Related Thermodynamic Properties of 1-Alkyl-3-methylimidazolium Bis[(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl]imides (from 1-Propyl- to 1-Hexyl-)

The knowledge of thermodynamic high-pressure speed of sound in ionic liquids (ILs) is a crucial way either to study the nature of the molecular interactions, structure and packing effects or to determine other key thermodynamic properties of ILs essential for their applications in any chemical and industrial processes. Herein, we report the speed of sound as a function temperature at pressures up to 101 MPa in four ultrapure ILs: 1-propyl-3-methylimidazolium bis[(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl]imide, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis[(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl]imide, 1-pentyl-3-methylimidazolium bis[(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl]imide, and 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium bis[(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl]imide, taking into consideration their relaxation behavior. Additionally, to further improve the reliability of the speed of sound results, the density, isentropic compressibility, and isobaric heat capacity as a function of temperature and pressure are calculated using an acoustic method.

The use of binary mixtures of 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bis{(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl}imide and aliphatic nitrile solvents as electrolyte for supercapacitors

Abstract The development of high voltage electrolytes is one of the key aspects for increasing both energy and power density of electrochemical double layer capacitors (EDLCs). The usage of blends of ionic liquids and organic solvents has been considered as a feasible strategy since these electrolytes combine high usable voltages and good transport properties at the same time. In this work, the ionic liquid 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bis{(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl}imide ([Pyrr14][TFSI]) was mixed with two nitrile-based organic solvents, namely butyronitrile and adiponitrile, and the resulting blends were investigated regarding their usage in electrochemical double layer capacitors. Both blends have a high electrochemical stability, which was confirmed by prolonged float tests at 3.2 V, as well as, good transport properties. In fact, the butyronitrile blend reaches a conductivity of 17.14 mS·cm−1 and a viscosity of 2.46 mPa·s at 20 °C, which is better than the state-of-the-art electrolyte (1 mol·dm−3 of tetraethylammonium tetrafluoroborate in propylene carbonate).

Binary Mixtures of 1-Butyl-1-Methylpyrrolidinium Bis{(trifluoromethyl)Sulfonyl}Imide and Aliphatic Nitrile Solvents As Electrolyte for Electrochemical Double Layer Capacitors (Invited).

Electrochemical double layer capacitors (EDLCs), also known as supercapacitors, are promising energy storage devices, especially when considering high power applications [1]. EDLCs can be charged and discharged within seconds [1], feature high power (10 kW·kg-1) and an excellent cycle life (>500,000 cycles). All these properties are a result of the energy storage process of EDLCs, which relies on storing energy by charge separation instead of chemical redox reactions, as utilized in battery systems. Upon charging, double layers are forming at the electrode/electrolyte interface consisting of the electrolyte’s ions and electric charges at the electrode surface.In state-of-the-art EDLC systems activated carbons (AC) are used as active materials and tetraethylammonium tetrafluoroborate ([Et4N][BF4]) dissolved in organic solvents like propylene carbonate (PC) or acetonitrile (ACN) are commonly used as the electrolyte [2]. These combinations of materials allow operative voltages up to 2.7 V - 2.8 V and an energy in the order of 5 Wh·kg-1[3]. The energy of EDLCs is dependent on the square of the operative voltage, thus increasing the usable operative voltage has a strong effect on the delivered energy of the device [1]. Due to their high electrochemical stability, ionic liquids (ILs) were thoroughly investigated as electrolytes for EDLCs, as well as, batteries, enabling high operating voltages as high as 3.2 V - 3.5 V for the former [2]. While their unique ionic structure allows the usage of neat ILs as electrolyte in EDLCs, ILs suffer from low conductivity and high viscosity increasing the intrinsic resistance and, as a result, a lower power output of the device. In order to overcome this issue, the usage of blends of ionic liquids and organic solvents has been considered a feasible strategy as they combine high usable voltages, while still retaining good transport properties at the same time.In our recent work the ionic liquid 1-butyl-1-methylpyrrolidinium bis{(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl}imide ([Pyrr14][TFSI]) was combined with two nitrile-based organic solvents, namely butyronitrile (BTN) and adiponitrile (ADN), and the resulting blends were investing regarding their usage in electrochemical double layer capacitors [4,5]. Firstly, the physicochemical properties were investigated, showing good transport properties for both blends, which are similar to the state-of-the-art combination of [Et4N][BF4] in PC. Secondly, the electrochemical properties for EDLC application were studied in depth revealing a high electrochemical stability with a maximum operative voltage as high as 3.7 V. In full cells these high voltage organic solvent based electrolytes have a good performance in terms of capacitance and an acceptable equivalent series resistance at cut-off voltages of 3.2 and 3.5 V. However, long term stability tests by float testing revealed stability issues when using a maximum voltage of 3.5 V for prolonged time, whereas at 3.2 V no such issues are observed (Fig. 1).Considering the obtained results, the usage of ADN and BTN blends with [Pyrr14][TFSI] in EDLCs appears to be an interesting alternative to state-of-the-art organic solvent based electrolytes, allowing the usage of higher maximum operative voltages while having similar transport properties to 1 mol∙dm-3 [Et4N][BF4] in PC at the same time.

A New Technique for Studying Vapour–liquid Equilibria of Multi-Component Systems

A Fourier transform infrared gas-phase method is described herein and capable of deriving the vapour pressure of each pure component of a poorly volatile mixture and determining the relative vapour phase composition for each system. The performance of the present method has been validated using two standards (naphthalene and ferrocene), and a Raoult’s plot surface of a ternary system is reported as proof-of-principle. This technique is ideal for studying solutions comprising two, three, or more organic compounds dissolved in ionic liquids as they have no measurable vapour pressures.

Effect of hydrophobic nanopatches within an ionic surface on the structure of liquids

The structures of liquid water and isopropanol have been studied as a function of the size of a hydrophobic patch present in a model hydrophilic surface via molecular dynamics simulations. A significant anisotropy extending into the first few solvent layers is found over the patch which suggests implications for many real-world systems in which nanoscale heterogeneity is found.