In situ ceramic fillers of electrospun thermoplastic polyurethane/poly(vinylidene fluoride) based gel polymer electrolytes for Li-ion batteries

Gel polymer electrolyte films based on thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU)/poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVdF) with and without in situ ceramic fillers (SiO₂ and TiO₂) are prepared by electrospinning 9 wt% polymer solution at room temperature. The electrospun TPU-PVdF blending membrane with 3% in situ TiO₂ shows a highest ionic conductivity of 4.8 × 10⁻³ S cm⁻¹ with electrochemical stability up to 5.4 V versus Li⁺/Li at room temperature and has a high tensile strength (8.7 ± 0.3 MPa) and % elongation at break (110.3 ± 0.2). With the superior electrochemical and mechanical performance, it is very suitable for application in polymer lithium ion batteries.