Abstract
Ionic liquids (ILs) have been investigated extensively because of their unique ability to form the electric double layer (EDL), which induces high electrical field. For certain materials, low-temperature IL charging is needed to limit the electrochemical etching. Here, we report our investigation of the low-temperature charging dynamics in two widely used ILs—DEME-TF2N and C4mim-TF2N. Results show that the formation of the EDL at ∼220 K requires several hours relative to milliseconds at room temperature, and an equivalent voltage Ve is introduced as a measure of the EDL formation during the biasing process. The experimental observation is supported by molecular dynamics simulation, which shows that the dynamics are logically a function of gate voltage, time, and temperature. To demonstrate the importance of understanding the charging dynamics, a 140 nm thick FeSe0.5Te0.5 film was biased using the DEME IL, showing a tunable Tc between 18 and 35 K. Notably, this is the first observation of the tunability of the Tc in thick film FeSe0.5Te0.5 superconductors.
