Gel Electrolytes and Supercapacitors

A special issue of Gels (ISSN 2310-2861). This special issue belongs to the section "Gel Chemistry and Physics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 967

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Energy and Materials Engineering, Dongguk University, Seoul 04620, Republic of Korea
Interests: advanced materials for Li- and Na-ion batteries; materials characterization; Li–air batteries; electrocatalysts; gel electrolytes; electrochemistry; nanomaterials; polymeric materials; X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS); ultra-small-angle X-ray scattering; X-ray nano-imaging
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Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
Interests: polymers; polyelectrolyte solutions and gels; soft matter; physical chemistry

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The Special Issue aims to address the growing interest and advancements in gel electrolyte technologies for energy storage applications. Gel electrolytes stand at the forefront of innovation due to their unique properties that combine the high ionic conductivity of liquid electrolytes with the mechanical stability of solid-state systems. This Special Issue seeks to explore the latest research, challenges, and breakthroughs in the development, characterization, and application of gel electrolytes for enhancing the performance and safety of batteries and supercapacitors.

This Special Issue will cover a comprehensive range of topics including, but not limited to, the synthesis of novel gel electrolyte materials, their electrochemical properties, and their integration into various energy storage devices. Emphasis will be placed on sustainable materials, fabrication methods, and the role of gel electrolytes in improving the energy density, power density, cycle life, and thermal stability of batteries and supercapacitors.

The present Special Issue aims to serve as a valuable resource for researchers, engineers, and industry professionals seeking to advance the field of electrochemical energy storage systems.

Dr. Mobinul Islam
Prof. Dr. Andrey Dobrynin
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Gels is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2100 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • gel electrolytes
  • energy storage
  • batteries
  • supercapacitors
  • ionic conductivity
  • electrochemical stability
  • sustainable materials

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

20 pages, 2434 KB  
Article
Enhancing Solid-State Supercapacitors with Nitrogen Plasma-Activated PVA-KOH Gel Electrolyte
by Yiduo Li, Gen Chen, Shidong Fang, Wenxue Duan, Jie Shen, Zou Wu, Kaixin Xiang and Jingwei Tao
Gels 2026, 12(2), 109; https://doi.org/10.3390/gels12020109 - 27 Jan 2026
Viewed by 594
Abstract
The development of high-performance solid-state energy storage devices is constrained by the limited ionic conductivity of gel electrolytes. To address this challenge, an inductively coupled nitrogen plasma (ICP) surface modification strategy was applied to poly(vinyl alcohol)–potassium hydroxide (PVA–KOH) gel electrolytes. The optimal plasma [...] Read more.
The development of high-performance solid-state energy storage devices is constrained by the limited ionic conductivity of gel electrolytes. To address this challenge, an inductively coupled nitrogen plasma (ICP) surface modification strategy was applied to poly(vinyl alcohol)–potassium hydroxide (PVA–KOH) gel electrolytes. The optimal plasma treatment parameters (150 W, 20 s) were identified based on ionic conductivity measurements. Comprehensive characterization confirmed that plasma treatment effectively introduced nitrogen-containing polar functional groups on the gel surface, induced surface nitrogen doping, increased surface roughness, and disrupted the hydrogen bond network. These synergistic microstructural modifications and chemical modifications increased interfacial polarity and facilitated ion transport, resulting in a 26% enhancement in the ionic conductivity compared with the pristine gel. Solid-state supercapacitors fabricated with the optimized gel electrolyte exhibits improved energy density, enhanced rate capability, and reduced interfacial impedance. These findings demonstrate that nitrogen-induced ICP treatment is an effective surface engineering strategy for improving gel electrolyte performance and advancing solid-state supercapacitor technologies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Gel Electrolytes and Supercapacitors)
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