Influence of Electrode Pore Size and Electrolyte on\nCarbon Aerogel Supercapacitors: Insights from Experimental Studies\nand Molecular Simulations

This study investigates the enhancement\nof supercapacitor energy\ndensity by exploring the role of carbon aerogel (CA) electrode pore\nsize and aqueous electrolyte compositions by employing a combination\nof experimental techniques and molecular dynamics simulations. Supercapacitors,\nknown for their rapid charge–discharge cycles and longer lifespans,\nface the challenge of lower energy density compared to lithium-ion\nbatteries. To address this, recent state-of-the-art advancements have\nfocused on optimizing electrode architecture, such as hierarchical\nporous carbon structures, and fine-tuning electrolyte compositions\nto maximize ion-transport efficiency and capacitance. Our research\nintegrates these modern strategies by leveraging high-fidelity 3D\nmodeling of carbon electrode pores at different quench rates to guide\nthe synthesis of CA electrodes with precise pore size distributions.\nWe assessed the performance of these optimized electrodes in supercapacitor\nsystems using cutting-edge electrolytes, including 3 M aqueous KOH\nand 1 M Na<sub>2</sub>SO<sub>4</sub>, both recognized in current research\nfor their high ionic conductivity and compatibility with porous carbon\nmaterials. Notably, the KOH-based system demonstrated superior specific\ncapacitance, attributed to the increased surface area and enhanced\nion accessibility of K<sup>+</sup> and OH<sup>–</sup> ions\nwithin the optimized CA structure. The specific capacitance values\nmeasured experimentally for the KOH system at 1 A/g (119 F/g) showed\na strong correlation with molecular dynamics simulation predictions\n(128 F/g), underscoring the accuracy and predictive power of modern\ncomputational techniques in electrode design.