Work

Structure-property insights into CO32--crosslinked chitosan hydrogel membranes: Facile synthesis via gradient crosslinking of quasi-solid electrolytes for electric double layer capacitors with remarkable cycle lives

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: The advancement of environmentally-benign, quasi-solid hydrogel electrolytes is critical for developing safe and scalable electrochemical energy storage systems. In this work, Gradient Crosslinked Membrane Electrolytes (GCMEs) have been synthesized by ionic crosslinking of chitosan with varying concentrations of sodium carbonate (Na 2 CO 3 ) crosslinker. The degree of gradient crosslinking has been systematically controlled and the resulting GCMEs are characterized in terms of structural, physicochemical and electrochemical properties. Fourier transform infra-red (FTIR) analysis confirms the ionic crosslinking via characteristic -OH and -NH band shifts, while X-ray diffraction (XRD) reveals semi-crystalline morphology in GCME. GCME-0.5M and GCME-3M possess tensile strengths of 41.22 and 44.34 MPa; contact angles of 68.6° and 75.1°; water uptake of 112 and 79 %; and ionic conductivities of 5.41 × 10 −4 and 1.54 × 10 −4 S cm −1 , respectively. Both membranes exhibit an electrochemical stability window of 0-2.1 V, and high ionic transference number of 0.983 and 0.969, respectively. Electric Double Layer Capacitor (EDLC) devices fabricated with GCME-0.5M and GCME-3M deliver areal capacitances of 299.40 and 181 mF cm −2 and maintain cycling stabilities of 57,000 and 26,000 cycles at 1 mA cm −2 , respectively. Best performing EDLCs also powers a Light Emitting Diode (LED) for 95 s at a cell voltage of 1.87V. These results are benchmarked against isotropically crosslinked hydrogel membrane electrolytes synthesized with identical constituents. While the isotropic membranes exhibit higher performances, the GCMEs offer facile synthesis route, reduced processing time, and robust electrochemical performance, making them promising candidates for scalable solid-state energy storage applications.

Source: Journal of Power Sources

DOI: 10.1016/j.jpowsour.2026.241152

Authors: Dipankar Hazarika, Marjo A. Kichu, Nuphizo Shijoh, Duangailung Kamei, Nurul Alam Choudhury

Institution: Nagaland University

Language: English

Topic: Supercapacitor Materials and Fabrication

Subfield: Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials

Field: Materials Science

Domain: Physical Sciences

SDG: Affordable and clean energy

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $4,230