Accumulation of Electrical Energy in Supramolecular Clathrates Through Quantum Effects

Abstract

In this study, we discuss the possibility of using supramolecular clathrates as materials that exhibit quantum-dimensional properties capable of providing high-density electrical energy storage. For this purpose, nanoscale structures with supramolecular bonding based on the host-guest principle were formed. The hosts were an expanded GaSe single crystal and a nanoporous SiO₂ matrix, and the guest component was an ionic liquid of two different chemical compositions. As a result of studies conducted by the impedance spectroscopy method, manifestations of such effects as quantum tunneling and Coulomb blockade were detected, which made it possible to accumulate an electric charge. A direct proof of this is the measured volt–ampere characteristics, which demonstrate a pronounced hysteresis characteristic for electrochemical current batteries. The obtained result indicates the possibility of creating fundamentally new devices for the accumulation of electrical energy with the quantum nature of the corresponding effects and phenomena.