@article{f2a2cd503af6471cad8c7d393fad9a3c,
title = "Effect of grain size on the ionic conductivity of a block copolymer electrolyte",
abstract = "A systematic study of the dependence of ionic conductivity on the grain size of a lamellar block copolymer electrolyte was performed. A freeze-dried mixture of poly(styrene)-block-poly(ethylene oxide) and lithium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide salt was heated in steps from 29 to 116 °C and then cooled back to 29 °C with an annealing time ranging from 30 to 60 min at each temperature. Grain structure and ionic conductivity during these steps were quantified by in situ small-angle X-ray scattering and ac impedance spectroscopy, respectively. Conductivity depends both on grain structure and temperature. A normalization scheme to decouple the dependence of conductivity on temperature and grain structure is described. Ionic conductivity at a given temperature was found to decrease by a factor of 5.2 ± 0.9 as the SAXS measure of grain size increased from 13 to 88 nm. The fact that in the system studied, large, well-formed lamellar grains are less conducting than poorly defined, small grains suggests a new approach for optimizing the transport properties of block copolymer electrolytes. Further work is necessary to confirm the generality of this finding.",
author = "Mahati Chintapalli and Chen, {X. Chelsea} and Thelen, {Jacob L.} and Teran, {Alexander A.} and Xin Wang and Garetz, {Bruce A.} and Balsara, {Nitash P.}",
year = "2014",
month = aug,
day = "12",
doi = "10.1021/ma501202c",
language = "English",
volume = "47",
pages = "5424--5431",
journal = "Macromolecules",
issn = "0024-9297",
publisher = "American Chemical Society",
number = "15",
}