# Electrolyte Effects on Disorder-Enhanced Capacitance in Nanoporous Carbons

## TL;DR

This study explores how structural disorder in nanoporous carbons affects capacitance in different electrolytes, showing that disorder can enhance performance in supercapacitors.

## Contribution

The study demonstrates the generality of disorder-driven capacitance across various ionic liquid and organic electrolytes.

## Key findings

- Carbons with smaller graphene-like domains and larger ion adsorption capacities show higher capacitance in EMIBF4.
- Capacitance remains similar across different electrolytes when pores are accessible to ions.
- Disorder-driven capacitance is influenced by defects and their impact on quantum capacitance.

## Abstract

The impact of pore
structure and surface functionality
on the capacitance
of nanoporous carbons has been widely studied across different electrolytes,
yet the role of electrolyte chemistry in structural disorder-driven
and ion adsorption capacity-related capacitance remains largely unexplored.
In this study, we investigate the relationship between capacitance
and the degree of structural order in 20 nanoporous carbons using
ionic liquid electrolytes, aiming to establish the generality of disorder-driven
capacitance and explore its underlying mechanisms. Our results demonstrate
that carbons with smaller graphene-like domains and larger ion adsorption
capacities exhibit higher capacitance in 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium
tetrafluoroborate (EMIBF4) ionic liquid, consistent with
our previous findings in 1 M tetraethylammonium tetrafluoroborate
(TEABF4) in acetonitrile (ACN). More generally, we find
that the capacitance of a given carbon remains similar across different
ionic liquid and organic electrolytes, provided that the pores are
accessible to the electrolyte ions. This study shows the generality
of disorder-driven and adsorption-dependent capacitance in nanoporous
carbons in organic and ionic liquid systems and suggests that factors
such as the nature of the defects and how they affect quantum capacitance
may play an important role in disorder-driven capacitance, ultimately
providing insights for designing high-performance supercapacitor electrodes.