Publication Type
Journal
Journal Name
Physical Review Applied
Publication Date
Page Number
034018
Volume
8
Issue
3
Abstract
We study ion partitioning and self-charging of nanoporous electrodes with room-temperature ionic liquids using a classical density-functional theory that accounts for molecular-excluded volume effects and electrostatic correlations. Nanopores of zero electrical potential are predicted to favor adsorption of small ions even without specific surface attraction, and the imbalanced distributions of cations and anions inside the pore induces a net surface charge that promotes further enrichment of small ions. The self-amplified ion partitioning is most significant when the nanopore and the ionic species are of comparable dimension.