I need help on how to prevent/slow down the drying rate of my electrolyte paste

[123456789a]

Hello, I had been testing out my electrolyte paste on prototype capacitors I made. I got some good results but the problem is it dries up usually on the third day and am wondering how to prevent or slow down the drying rate. If it helps, my electrolyte is a mixture of calcium nitrate, powered silicate gel, carboxymethual cellulose, and deionized water.

 

[jpanhalt]

Obviously, the water is evaporating. What is the relative humidity and outside air temperature?

You can try a double jar. Put a damp towel or sponge in the outer jar. The outer jar must be closed. Given the constituents you mention, I might also close the inner jar to prevent absorption of more water than you want. You can test for that by leaving the inner jar open and checking for weight gain. If there is no weight gain, then I wouldn't worry about sealing the inner jar.

Instead of an outer jar, a plastic bag (e.g, Zip Lock) can also be used. Bags will be more permeable to water vapor, so you will need to check that the sponge is kept wet,

John

 

[davenn]

powered silicate gel,

well there's probably a significant problem for a start
its going to soak up moisture out of the surrounding solution/chemical mix

so where did you get that list of chemicals from ?

Dave

 

[(*steve*)]

It may be that it takes a couple of days before the silica gel absorbs all the water.

Try adding more to see if it lasts longer. If it does then the issue is absorption. If not, evaporation.

 

[123456789a]

Obviously, the water is evaporating. What is the relative humidity and outside air temperature?

You can try a double jar. Put a damp towel or sponge in the outer jar. The outer jar must be closed. Given the constituents you mention, I might also close the inner jar to prevent absorption of more water than you want. You can test for that by leaving the inner jar open and checking for weight gain. If there is no weight gain, then I wouldn't worry about sealing the inner jar.

Instead of an outer jar, a plastic bag (e.g, Zip Lock) can also be used. Bags will be more permeable to water vapor, so you will need to check that the sponge is kept wet,

John

There is barely any humidity from where I live (literally a desert), the temperature right now is 84F/29C but I will definitely try out that method thank you.

well there's probably a significant problem for a start
its going to soak up moisture out of the surrounding solution/chemical mix

so where did you get that list of chemicals from ?

Dave

The purpose of the silicate gel is to absorb any "loose" liquid as the carboxymethual cellulose from my finding at best can only turn liquids into a lubricant like state. Originally I wanted to make my electrolyte more gel like akin to hair gel given what ingredients from the guy that was sharing it and how he claimed he got it to a gel like state however though his mixture percentages were too weak and long story short I had to recalibrate the mixture percentages to try to get it in a gel like state but at best I could only get it to be a thick goo like honey or syrup so I settled with that.

It may be that it takes a couple of days before the silica gel absorbs all the water.

Try adding more to see if it lasts longer. If it does then the issue is absorption. If not, evaporation.

I probably will give that a go again

 

[jpanhalt]

Just FYI. My brother lives in a desert (Palm Springs, California); I live in a more "temperate'' climate, Northern Ohio. When it gets cold here, my absolute humidity is quite a bit lower than his. Deserts may seem dry, only because of the high temperature. However, the Antarctic can be called a desert.

Anyway, that is not really related to your question. I had assumed your silica gel powder had been completely hydrated. If that is not the case, then that clearly is another source of "drying."

What type of properties are you looking for in your electrolyte? For example, do you want polarity without ionic conductivity?

John