1-Alkyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide ionic liquids as highly safe electrolyte for Li/LiFePO4 battery

Several 1-alkyl-2,3-dimethylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide ionic liquids (alkyl-DMimTFSI) were prepared by changing carbon chain lengths and configuration of the alkyl group, and their electrochemical properties and compatibility with Li/LiFePO₄ battery electrodes were investigated in detail. Experiments indicated the type of ionic liquid has a wide electrochemical window (−0.16 to 5.2 V vs. Li⁺/Li) and are theoretically feasible as an electrolyte for batteries with metallic lithium as anode. Addition of vinylene carbonate (VC) improves the compatibility of alkyl-DMimTFSI-based electrolytes towards lithium anode and LiFePO₄ cathode, and enhanced the formation of solid electrolyte interface to protect lithium anodes from corrosion. The electrochemical properties of the ionic liquids obviously depend on carbon chain length and configuration of the alkyl, including ionic conductivity, viscosity, and charge/discharge capacity etc. Among five alkyl-DMimTFSI-LiTFSI-VC electrolytes, Li/LiFePO₄ battery with the electrolyte-based on amyl-DMimTFSI shows best charge/discharge capacity and reversibility due to relatively high conductivity and low viscosity, its initial discharge capacity is about 152.6 mAh g⁻¹, which the value is near to theoretical specific capacity (170 mAh g⁻¹). Although the battery with electrolyte-based isooctyl-DMimTFSI has lowest initial discharge capacity (8.1 mAh g⁻¹) due to relatively poor conductivity and high viscosity, the value will be dramatically added to 129.6 mAh g⁻¹ when 10% propylene carbonate was introduced into the ternary electrolyte as diluent. These results clearly indicates this type of ionic liquids have fine application prospect for lithium batteries as highly safety electrolytes in the future.     

Dye sensitized solar cells with poly(acrylonitrile) based plasticized electrolyte containing MgI2

Polymer electrolytes can be used favorably in photo-electrochemical solar cells. A possible electrolyte for this purpose is a polyacrylonitrile-MgI₂ complex with plasticizers such as ethylene carbonate and propylene carbonate. The best ionic conductivity was obtained for samples containing 60 wt% of MgI₂ salt with respect to the weight of polyacrylonitrile, for example, at 30 °C the conductivity is 1.9 × 10⁻³ S cm⁻¹. The ionic contribution to the conductivity is dominant as shown by dc polarization tests. Furthermore, the glass transition temperature showed a minimum, −103.0 °C, for the sample with the highest conductivity indicating the importance of polymer chain flexibility for the conduction process. Measurements on a fabricated solar cell with this electrolyte exhibited an overall energy conversion efficiency of 0.84%. The short circuit current density, open circuit voltage and fill factor of the cell were 2.04 mA cm⁻², 692 mV and 59.3%, respectively.     

Synthesis, structure characterization and ionic conductivity of star-branched organic-inorganic hybrid electrolytes based on cyanuric chloride, diamine-capped poly(oxyalkylene) and alkoxysilane

A synthesis route for preparing highly conductive solid organic-inorganic hybrid electrolytes has been developed by using cyanuric chloride as the coupling core to react with diamino-terminated poly(oxyalkylene) triblock copolymers, followed by cross-linking with an epoxy alkoxysilane 3-glycidyloxypropyl trimethoxysilane via a sol-gel process. The present hybrid electrolyte with a [O]/[Li] ratio of 32 was found to be the most conductive, reaching a maximum lithium ion conductivity of 6.8 × 10⁻⁵ Scm⁻¹ at 30 °C. The Li-ion mobility was determined from ⁷Li static NMR line width measurements and correlated with their ionic conductivities. The onset of ⁷Li line narrowing was closely related to the T_g of the hybrid electrolytes as measured by DSC experiments. Thus, the motions of the lithium cations are strongly coupled with the segmental motion of the polymer chains, which is in line with the Vogel-Tamman-Fulcher behavior as observed in ionic conductivity.     

Electrochemical studies of electrospun organic/inorganic hybrid nanocomposite fibrous polymer electrolyte for lithium battery

Poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) P(VdF-co-HFP)/magnesium aluminate (MgAl₂O₄) hybrid fibrous nanocomposite polymer electrolyte membranes were newly prepared by electrospinning method. The as-prepared electrospun pure and nanocomposite fibrous polymer membranes with various MgAl₂O₄ filler contents were characterized by X ray diffraction, differential scanning calorimetry and scanning electron microscopy techniques. The fibrous nanocomposite polymer electrolytes were prepared by soaking the electrospun membranes in 1 M LiPF₆ in EC:DEC (1:1, v/v). The fibrous nanocomposite polymer electrolyte membrane with 5 wt.% of MgAl₂O₄ show high electrolyte uptake, enhanced ionic conductivity is found to be 2.80 × 10⁻³ S cm⁻¹ at room temperature and good electrochemical stability window higher than 4.5 V. Electrochemical performance of commercial celgard 2320, fibrous pure and nanocomposite polymer electrolyte (PE, NCPE) membranes with different MgAl₂O₄ filler content is evaluated in Li/celgard 2320, PE, NCPE/LiCoO₂ CR 2032 coin cells at current density 0.1 C-rate. The NCPE with 5 wt.% of MgAl₂O₄ delivers an initial discharge capacity of 158 mAhg⁻¹ and stable cycle performance compared with the other cells containing celgard 2320 separator and pure membrane.     

Efficiently enhance the proton conductivity of YSZ-based electrolyte for low temperature solid oxide fuel cell

Yttrium stabilized zirconia (YSZ) as a typical oxygen ionic conductor has been widely used as the electrolyte for solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) at the temperature higher than 1000 °C, but its poor ionic conductivity at lower temperature (500–800 °C) limits SOFC commercialization. Compared with oxide ionic transport, protons conduction are more transportable at low temperatures due to lower activation energy, which delivered enormous potential in the low-temperature SOFC application. In order to increase the proton conductivity of YSZ-based electrolyte, we introduced semiconductor ZnO into YSZ electrolyte layer to construct heterointerface between semiconductor and ionic conductor. Study results revealed that the heterointerface between ZnO and YSZ provided a large number of oxygen vacancies. When the mass ratio of YSZ to ZnO was 5:5, the fuel cell achieved the best performance. The maximum power density (P_max) of this fuel cell achieved 721 mW cm^?2 at 550 °C, whereas the P_max of the fuel cell with pure YSZ electrolyte was only 290 mW cm^?2. Further investigation revealed that this composite electrolyte possessed poor O^2? conductivity but good proton conductivity of 0.047 S cm^?1 at 550 °C. The ionic conduction activation energy of 5YSZ-5ZnO composite in fuel cell atmosphere was only 0.62 eV. This work provides an alternative way to improve the ionic conductivity of YSZ-based electrolytes at low operating temperatures.     

Ionic conductivity in polyethylene-b-poly(ethylene oxide)/lithium perchlorate solid polymer electrolytes

The ionic conductivity and phase arrangement of solid polymeric electrolytes based on the block copolymer polyethylene-b-poly(ethylene oxide) (PE-b-PEO) and LiClO₄ have been investigated. One set of electrolytes was prepared from copolymers with 75% of PEO units and another set was based on a blend of copolymer with 50% PEO units and homopolymers. The differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results, for electrolytes based on the copolymer with 75% of PEO units, were dominated by the PEO phase. The PEO block crystallinity dropped and the glass transition increased with salt addition due to the coordination of the cation by PEO oxygen. The conductivity for copolymers 75% PEO-based electrolyte with 15 wt% of salt was higher than 10⁻⁵ S/cm at room temperature and reached to 10⁻³ S/cm at 100 °C on a heating measurement. The blend of PE-b-PEO (50% PEO)/PEO/PE showed a complex thermal behavior with decoupled melting of the blocks and the homopolymers. Upon salt addition the endotherms associated with PEO domains disappeared and the PE crystals remained untouched. The conductivity results were limited at 100 °C to values close to 10⁻⁴ S/cm and at room temperature values close to 3 × 10⁻⁶ S/cm were obtained for the 15 wt% salt electrolyte. Raman study showed that the ionic association of the highly concentrated blend electrolytes at room temperature is not significant. Therefore, the lower values of conductivity in the case of the blend with 50% PEO can be assigned to the higher content of PE domains leading to a morphology with lower connectivity for ionic conduction both in the crystalline and melted state of the PE domains.     

Electrochemical properties of novel ionic liquids for electric double layer capacitor applications

An aliphatic quaternary ammonium salt which has a methoxyethyl group on the nitrogen atom formed an ionic liquid (room temperature molten salt) when combined with the tetrafluoroborate (BF₄⁻) and bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide [TFSI; (CF₃SO₂)₂N⁻] anions. The limiting oxidation and reduction potentials, specific conductivity, and some other physicochemical properties of the novel ionic liquids, N,N-diethyl-N-methyl-N-(2-methoxyethyl)ammonium tetrafluoroborate (DEME-BF₄) and DEME-TFSI have been evaluated and compared with those of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate. DEME-BF₄ is a practically useful ionic liquid for electrochemical capacitors as it has a quite wide potential window (6.0 V) and high ionic conductivity (4.8 mS cm⁻¹ at 25 °C). We prepared an electric double layer capacitor (EDLC) composed of a pair of activated carbon electrodes and DEME-BF₄ as the electrolyte. This EDLC (working voltage ∼2.5 V) has both, a higher capacity above room temperature and a better charge-discharge cycle durability at 100 °C when compared to a conventional EDLC using an organic liquid electrolyte such as a tetraethylammonium tetrafluoroborate in propylene carbonate.     

Impedance studies of cathode/electrolyte behaviour in SOFC

This paper reports impedance studies of the cathode/electrolyte behaviour in solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC), based on comparative investigation of half-cells with yttria stabilized zirconia (YSZ) electrolyte and different cathode materials: lanthanum strontium manganite (LSM), and composite LSM/YSZ with low ionic conductivity as well as the electron conducting Ag, Pt and Au. For improved impedance data analysis the technique of the differential impedance analysis is applied. It ensures structural and parametric identification without preliminary assumptions about the working model. It is found that despite the low ionic conductivity of LSM, the cathode reaction of the oxide cathode materials is a two-step process including: (i) charge transfer with activation energy of the resistivity E_a increasing with the temperature and (ii) transport of oxygen ions through the bulk of the electrode (rate-limiting stage) with E_a independent on the temperature. For the metal (electron conducting) electrodes, the reaction behaviour is described with one step process with higher E_a at higher temperatures. The activation energy of the electrolyte conductivity decreases with the increase of the temperature. The observed changes in E_a for the electrolyte and the cathode reaction (the charge transfer step for the LSM-based electrodes) appear in the same temperature interval. This interesting coincidence suggests for correlation between the bulk (electrolyte) and surface conduction properties. Approaches for improvement of both the ionic conductivity and the supply with electrons in LSM should be also searched.     

Synthesis of Yb and Sc stabilized zirconia electrolyte (Yb0.12Sc0.08Zr0.8O2–δ) for intermediate temperature SOFCs: Microstructural and electrical properties

Ceramic electrolytes based on Yb and Sc stabilized zirconia enable efficient heat transfer and effective ionic conductivity. Here, the design and synthesis of Yb and Sc stabilized zirconia electrolyte is presented for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs). Yb_0.12Sc_0.08Zr_0.8O_2–δ was synthesized using the sol-gel method, and a thorough characterization of the electrolyte properties was conducted including structural and electrical properties. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) confirmed the composition of the electrolyte. A single-phase cubic structure with a density of 6.7041 ± 0.0008 g cm⁻³ was obtained. The thermal expansion coefficient in the temperature range from 25 °C to 800 °C is equal to 1.17 × 10⁻⁶ K⁻¹. The activation energy of 1.06 eV and 1.15 eV was obtained for the bulk and grain boundary conductivity, respectively. The ionic conductivity of approx. 2.10 S m⁻¹ was achieved at 667 °C, thus it is suitable for efficient ionic conduction at intermediate temperatures.     

Dopant effect on Li+ ion transport in NASICON-type solid electrolyte: Insights from molecular dynamics simulations and experiments

The performance of sodium superionic conductor (NASICON)-type LiZr₂(PO₄)₃ (LZP) solid electrolytes for Li-ion batteries is dependent on their ion transportation properties. Therefore, to achieve high stability, ionic conductivity, and good compatibility with Li, the LZP solid electrolyte has chosen and doped with Al to improve aforesaid properties. Also, the effect of the dopant on various parameters has been investigated via MD simulations and experimentally. In this study, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were used to investigate the effect of Al doping on the ion transport properties of Li_1+xAl_xZr_2?x(PO₄)₃ (LAZP, x = 0.0–1.0) solid electrolytes. A facile solid-state reaction was used to synthesize both pristine and Al-doped solid electrolytes and to estimate the effect of doping on the ionic conductivity and ion diffusion in LZP. Computational and experimental results provided strong evidence of improved ion conductivity and diffusion in LZP owing to the presence of the Al dopant. Furthermore, the computational results agreed well with the experimental results, thereby validating the computational model. A maximum ionic conductivity of σ_Li = 2.77 × 10^?5 S cm ^?1 (for x = 0.2) was obtained. Enhanced ionic conductivity was observed with Al dopants owing to the creation of interstitial Li ions through a reduction in grain boundary resistance. However, a further increase in the amount of dopant reduced the ionic conductivity of LZP owing to Li-ion trapping at the most stable and metastable sites around the Al insertions. Doped LZP solid electrolytes are suitable for use in energy storage devices because of their enhanced ionic conductivity compared to that of pristine LZP.     

Preparation and electrochemical characterization of the alkaline polymer gel electrolyte polymerized from acrylic acid and KOH solution

An alkaline polymer gel electrolyte (PGE) film was prepared by solution polymerization of acrylate-KOH-H₂O at room temperature, and the preparation conditions were optimized in view of the mechanical properties and ionic conductivity of the film. The PGE film with the optimized composition of 0.02% K₂S₂O₈, 16.75% acrylic acid and 83.23 wt.% 4 mol l⁻¹ KOH solution is transparent, rubber-like and dimensionally stable with improved mechanical properties as compared with gelled electrolyte. The specific conductivity of the film is 0.288 s cm⁻¹ at room temperature and the conductivity values follow the Arrhenius equation with the activation energy of ∼10 kJ mol⁻¹. These data suggest that the ionic conduction proceeds in the same mechanism as in aqueous alkaline solution. Experimental results from the laboratory Zn/Air, Zn/MnO₂ and Ni/Cd cells using the PGE film as electrolyte demonstrate that the PGE film has almost the same chemical and electrochemical stability as aqueous alkaline solution, and shows good performance characteristics for application of alkaline primary and secondary battery systems.     

Effect of SnO–P2O5–MgO glass addition on the ionic conductivity of Li1.3Al0.3Ti1.7(PO4)3 solid electrolyte

NASICON-type structured compounds Li_1+xM_xTi_2-x(PO₄)₃ (M = Al, Fe, Y, etc.) have captured much attention due to their air stability, wide electrochemical window and high lithium ion conductivity. Especially, Li_1.3Al_0.3Ti_1.7(PO₄)₃ (LATP) is a potential solid electrolyte due to its high ionic conductivity. However, its actual density usually has a certain gap with the theoretical density, leading the poor ionic conductivity of LATP. Herein, LATP solid electrolyte with series of SnO–P₂O₅–MgO (SPM, 0.4 wt%, 0.7 wt%, 1.0 wt%, 1.3 wt%) glass addition was successfully synthesized to improve the density and ionic conductivity. The SPM addition change Al/Ti–O bond and P–O bond distances, leading to gradual shrinkage of octahedral AlO₆ and tetrahedral PO₄. The bulk conductivity of the samples increases gradually with SPM glass addition from 0.4 wt% to 1.3 wt%. Both SPM and the second-phase LiTiPO₅, caused by glass addition, are conducive to the improvement of compactness. The relative density of LATP samples increases first from 0 wt% to 0.7 wt%, and then decreases from 0.7 wt% to 1.3 wt% with SPM glass addition. The grain boundary conductivity also changes accordingly. Especially, the highest ionic conductivity of 2.45 × 10^?4 S cm^?1, and a relative density of 96.72% with a low activation energy of 0.34 eV is obtained in LATP with 0.7 wt% SPM. Increasing the density of LATP solid electrolyte is crucial to improve the ionic conductivity of electrolytes and SPM glass addition can promote the development of dense oxide ceramic electrolytes.     

FT-IR studies on interactions of AlCl3 with PEO-NaSCN polymer electrolytes

Solid polymer electrolytes are potentially useful electrolytes to be applied in high-energy batteries. In the present work, a novel polymer electrolyte, polyethylene oxide (PEO)-NaSCN-AlCl₃, was prepared and investigated by FT-IR spectroscopic techniques. Based on the FT-IR data, the bands in the CN stretching envelope have been assigned and the effect of AlCl₃ on ion-ion and ion-polymer interactions in the polymer electrolyte has been examined. It is shown that the Lewis acid-base interaction of AlCl₃ with SCN¹⁻ leads to the formation of the complex anions AlCl₃SCN⁻ and Al₂Cl₆SCN⁻, depending on the content of AlCl₃ and/or NaSCN in PEO; the preferential interactions of AlCl₃ with crystal complex P(EO)₃NaSCN occur in PEO-NaSCN-AlCl₃ electrolytes; the AlCl₃-NaSCN complex anions can play a plasticization role in PEO-NaSCN-AlCl₃ electrolyte, and are expected to be a important factor to improve the conductivity and to enhance the cation transference number. In addition, the interactions between AlCl₃ and ether oxygen of PEO were analyzed, and their effect on ionic association was also discussed.     

A new carbon nanotubes (CNTs)–poly acrylonitrile (PAN) composite electrolyte for solid state dye sensitized solar cells

A new carbon nanotube (CNTs)–poly acrylonitrile (PAN) composite electrolyte was prepared by the thermal polymerization of acrylonitrile (AN) with CNTs for solid-state dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). It was found that the uniform CNT–PAN composite was formed due to the thermal polymerization of AN on CNTs. The strong bonding between CNTs and PAN could be confirmed by the characterization of XPS and Raman spectroscopy, resulting in the lowering of crystallinity and the increasing the ionic conductivity of composite electrolytes. On comparison with bare CNTs and the other composite electrolytes, the formation of triiodide (I₃⁻) ions in CNT–PAN composite electrolytes was drastically increased which was expected from the high ionic conductivity of electrolyte via I₃⁻/I⁻ redox couple. DSSCs fabricated with CNT–PAN composite electrolytes achieved relatively high conversion efficiency of 3.9% with an open circuit voltage (V_OC) of 0.57 V, short circuit current density (J_SC) of 10.9 mA/cm² and fill factor of 63.6%, which attributed to supply the higher extent of I₃⁻ ions from CNT–PAN composite electrolyte during the charge transport process.     

Ruthenium based DSA® in chlorate electrolysis—critical anode potential and reaction kinetics

Ruthenium based DSA®s have been investigated in chlorate electrolyte using rotating discs made from commercial electrodes. Measurements of the voltammetric charge, q*, and of iR-corrected polarisation curves up to current densities of 40 kA/m² were recorded on new anodes and on aged anodes from 3 years of production in a chlorate plant. Anodic polarisation curves in chloride containing electrolytes bend towards a higher slope at approximately 1.2 V versus Ag/AgCl, likely due to oxidation of ruthenium. The potential and current density at which the curves bend have been defined as the critical potential, E_cr, and the critical current density, i_cr. New anodes that operate at a relatively high potential, >E_cr, obtain an increase in real surface area and thereby a decrease in anode potential and in the selectivity for oxygen formation during the first months of operation. Experiments at constant ionic strength under chlorate process conditions showed that E_cr decreased with increasing chloride concentration with a factor of −0.09 V/log Cl⁻, whereas i_cr increased with increasing chloride concentration. The chlorine evolution reaction was of the first order with respect to chloride concentration. A possible reaction mechanism for chlorine formation is suggested.     

Polymer electrolytes based on poly(ethylene glycol) dimethyl ether and the ionic liquid 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate: Preparation, physico-chemical characterization, and theoretical study

Polymer electrolytes based on poly(ethylene glycol) dimethyl ether (PEGdME) and the ionic liquid (IL) 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate ([bmim]PF₆) have been prepared and characterized by different techniques. Coordination of the IL by the polymer occurs mainly in the amorphous phase. This finding was correlated with previous theoretical investigations of a similar model for polymer electrolytes based on poly(ethylene oxide), PEO, and IL. It has been obtained ionic conductivity σ ∼ 10⁻³ S cm⁻¹ for the polymer electrolyte with 35 wt% of IL at 100 °C. The same order of magnitude for σ was obtained by molecular dynamics simulation of PEO/IL. This work demonstrates consistency between experimental and theoretical results for polymer electrolytes containing ionic liquids.     

Composite alkaline polymer electrolytes and its application to nickel-metal hydride batteries

In order to enhance the ionic conductivity of polyethylene oxide (PEO)-KOH based alkaline polymer electrolytes, three types of nano-powders, i.e., TiO₂, β-Al₂O₃ and SiO₂ were added to PEO-KOH complex, respectively, and the corresponding composite alkaline polymer electrolytes were prepared. The experimental results showed that the prepared polymer electrolytes exhibited higher ionic conductivities at room temperature, typically 10⁻³ S cm⁻¹ as measured by ac impedance method, and good electrochemical stability. The electrochemical stability window of ca. 1.6 V was determined by cyclic voltammetry with stainless steel blocking electrodes. The influence of the film composition such as KOH, H₂O and nano-additives on ion conductivity was investigated and explained. The temperature dependence of conductivity was also determined. In addition, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)-sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC)-KOH alkaline polymer electrolytes were obtained using solvent casting method. The properties of the polymer electrolytes were characterized by ac impedance, cyclic voltammetry and differential thermal analysis methods. The ionic conductivity of the prepared PVA-CMC-KOH-H₂O electrolytes can reach the order of 10⁻² S cm⁻¹. The effect of CMC addition on the alkaline polymer electrolytes was also explained. The experimental results demonstrated that the PVA-CMC-KOH-H₂O polymer electrolyte could be used in Ni/MH battery.     

A highly conductive organic-inorganic hybrid electrolyte based on co-condensation of di-ureasil and ethylene glycol-containing alkoxysilane

Organic-inorganic hybrid electrolytes based on di-ureasil backbone structures by reacting poly(propylene glycol)-block-poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(propylene glycol) bis(2-aminopropyl ether) (ED2000) with 3-(triethoxysilyl)propyl isocyanate (ICPTES), followed by co-condensation with methoxy(polyethylenoxy)propyl trimethoxysilane (MPEOP) in the presence of LiClO₄ were prepared and characterized by a variety of techniques. The hybrid electrolytes showed good resistance to crystallization and excellent conductivity for use in lithium-ion batteries, as determined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and impedance measurements, respectively. The temperature dependence of the ionic conductivity exhibited a VTF (Vogel-Tamman-Fulcher)-like behavior for all the compositions studied and a maximum ionic conductivity value of 6.9 × 10⁻⁵ S cm⁻¹, a relatively high value for solid polymer electrolytes, was achieved at 30 °C for the hybrid electrolyte with a [O]/[Li] ratio of 16. A microscopic view of the dynamic behavior of the polymer chains (¹³C) and the ionic species (⁷Li) was provided by the ¹H and ⁷Li line widths measured from 2D ¹H-¹³C WISE (Wideline Separation) and variable temperature ⁷Li static NMR, respectively, to elucidate the influence of the mobility of the polymer chains and the charge carriers on the observed ionic conductivity. The present salt-free hybrid electrolyte after plasticization with 1 M LiClO₄ in EC/PC solution exhibited a swelling ratio of 275% and reached an ionic conductivity value up to 8.3 × 10⁻³ S cm⁻¹ at 30 °C, which make it a good candidate for the further development of advanced rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.     

Effect of surface modified porous inorganic-organic hybrid polyphosphazene nanotubes on the properties of polyethylene oxide based solid polymer electrolytes

2-(2-methyloxyethoxy)ethanol modified poly (cyclotriphosphazene-co-4,4′-sufonyldiphenol) (PZS) nanotubes were synthesized and solid composite polymer electrolytes based on the surface modified polyphosphazene nanotubes added to PEO/LiClO₄ model system were prepared. Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) were used to investigate the characteristics of the composite polymer electrolytes (CPE). The ionic conductivity, lithium ion transference number and electrochemical stability window can be enhanced after the addition of surface modified PZS nanotubes. The electrochemical investigation shows that the solid composite polymer electrolytes incorporated with PZS nanotubes have higher ionic conductivity and lithium ion transference number than the filler SiO₂. Maximum ionic conductivity values of 4.95 × 10⁻⁵ S cm⁻¹ at ambient temperature and 1.64 × 10⁻³ S cm⁻¹ at 80 °C with 10 wt % content of surface modified PZS nanotubes were obtained and the lithium ion transference number was 0.41. The good chemical properties of the solid state composite polymer electrolytes suggested that the inorganic-organic hybrid polyphosphazene nanotubes had a promising use as fillers in solid composite polymer electrolytes and the PEO₁₀-LiClO₄-PZS nanotubes solid composite polymer electrolyte can be used as a candidate material for lithium polymer batteries.     

The effects of anion structure of lithium salts on the properties of in-situ polymerized thermoplastic polyurethane electrolytes

Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) electrolytes with lithium salts were prepared by an in-situ polymerization method. Three different lithium salts were used to study the effects of the anion structure on the properties of polyurethane electrolytes: LiCl, LiClO₄, LiN(SO₂CF₃)₂ (LiTFSI). The effects of the anion structure on monomer (PTMG) prior to polymerization and on the properties of TPU electrolytes post polymerization were investigated. The anion structure of lithium salt has a significant influence on the ionic conductivity, thermal stability and tensile property of TPU electrolytes. The TPU electrolytes with LiTFSI demonstrated a high ionic conductivity up to 10⁻⁵ S/cm at 300 K. The ionic conductivity of polyurethane electrolytes with lithium salts is in the order: LiCl < LiClO₄ < LiTFSI. It was found that the lithium salts with larger anions were easily dissociated in TPU and had stronger interaction with TPU, which provided more charge carriers and gave higher ionic conductivity.