ISIS Neutron and Muon Source Data Journal

This is a page describing data taken during an experiment at the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source. Information about the ISIS Neutron and Muon Source can be found at https://www.isis.stfc.ac.uk.


Surface Active Ionic Liquids in Ionic Liquid Solvents for Enhanced Supercapacitor Energy Storage NR

Abstract: Surface active ionic liquids (SAILs) are a unique group of ionic liquids (ILs) that combine the properties of self-assembling surfactants with that of ILs. From the results of previous neutron reflectivity (NR) studies, we have found that due to their electroresponsive nature, specific phosphonium/imidazolium (Im) orthoborate SAILs (Figure 1) are able to self-assemble into multi-layered structures on a charged electrode surface. They thus display great potential as electrolytes for enhanced supercapacitor energy storage. However, this was accomplished in the organic solvent propylene carbonate (PC), limiting the applicability of such a system with its intrinsic volatility and flammability. ILs on the other hand, provide a ?green? alternative with their tunable properties and proven ability to support self-assembly1. They provide a plethora of ?solvents? to choose from but due to their ionic nature (Figure 1), also provide a competing molecular species for interaction with a charged electrode interface. Therefore, we propose the use of NR to study the electroresponsive SAILs interfacial assembly when combined with an IL solvent. This has significant implications for the design of future supercapacitors and will be paired with SANS experiments on SANS2D.

Principal Investigator: Professor Mark Rutland
Experimenter: Dr Stuart Brown
Local Contact: Dr Maxmilian Skoda
Experimenter: Dr Oliver Hammond
Experimenter: Professor Saskia Lindhoud
Experimenter: Dr Guillaume Bousrez

DOI: 10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2520487

ISIS Experiment Number: RB2520487

Part DOI Instrument Public release date Download Link
10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2520487-1 INTER 11 March 2029 Download

Publisher: STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source

Data format: RAW/Nexus
Select the data format above to find out more about it.

Data Citation

The recommended format for citing this dataset in a research publication is as:
[author], [date], [title], [publisher], [doi]

For Example:
Professor Mark Rutland et al; (2026): Surface Active Ionic Liquids in Ionic Liquid Solvents for Enhanced Supercapacitor Energy Storage NR, STFC ISIS Neutron and Muon Source, https://doi.org/10.5286/ISIS.E.RB2520487

Data is released under the CC-BY-4.0 license.



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