Abstract
We report on the synthesis and characterization of a series of microphase-separated, single-ion-conducting block copolymer electrolytes. Salty nanoparticles comprising silsesquioxane cores with covalently bound polystyrenesulfonyllithium (trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide (PSLiTFSI) chains were synthesized by nitroxide-mediated polymerization. Hybrid electrolytes were obtained by mixing the salty nanoparticles into a microphase-separated polystyrene-b-poly(ethylene oxide) (SEO) block copolymer. Miscibility of PSLiTFSI and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) results in localization of the nanoparticles in the PEO-rich microphase. The morphology of hybrid electrolytes was determined by scanning transmission electron microscopy. We explore the relationship between the morphology and ionic conductivity of the hybrid. The transference number of the electrolyte with the highest ionic conductivity was measured by dc polarization to confirm the single-ion-conducting character of the electrolyte. Discharge curves obtained from lithium metal-hybrid electrolyte-FePO4 batteries are compared to the data obtained from the batteries with a conventional block copolymer electrolyte.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1998-2005 |
| Number of pages | 8 |
| Journal | Macromolecules |
| Volume | 50 |
| Issue number | 5 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Mar 14 2017 |
Funding
This work was supported as part of the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research, an Energy Innovation Hub funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Science, Basic Energy Sciences (BES). DSC and ICP experiments at the Molecular Foundry were supported by the Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract DE-AC02-05CH11231. X-ray scattering research at the Advanced Light Source was supported by the Director of the Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract DE-AC02-05CH11231. STEM work was provided by the Electron Microscopy of Soft Matter Program from the Office of Science, Office of Basic Energy Sciences, Materials Sciences and Engineering Division of the U.S. Department of Energy under Contract DE-AC02- 05CH11231. The STEM experiments were performed as user projects at the National Center for Electron Microscopy, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, under the same contract.