Ionic Liquids/Ionic Liquid Crystals for Safe and Sustainable Energy Storage Systems

Abstract

Ionic liquid crystals are organic salts having synergistic properties of ionic liquids and liquid crystalline materials endowed with non-covalently bound delocalised ion pairs of large organic cations and anions. They can undergo stimulus-responsive anisotro- pic phase change, followed by enhancement in ionic diffusion and conductivity, which makes them ideal candidates as electrolyte in energy storage systems. Our goal in this chapter is to survey the key developments in the field of ionic liquid crystalline electro- lytes and to generate curiosity in the wider research community in tackling challenges in the electrolyte materials for sustainable energy related devices, such as supercapacitors, Li batteries, fuel cells and dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs).