Polymer electrolyte

Widely used organophosphorus pesticide triazophos (TAP) can easily cumulate in aquatic system due to its high stability chemically and photochemically and thus posing significant threat to aquatic creatures and humans' health. Urging demand for rapid determining TAP in water has risen. Photoelectrochemical (PEC) sensing turns out to be a good candidate for its simplicity in fabrication and swiftness in detection. Nevertheless, traditional PEC sensors often lack selectivity as their signal generation primarily relies on the oxidation of organic compounds in the electrolyte by photo-induced holes...

The solid-state battery with a lithium metal anode is a promising candidate for next-generation batteries with improved energy density and safety. However, the current polymer electrolytes still cannot fulfill the demands of solid-state batteries. In this work, we propose a "5H" poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) electrolyte via introducing a multifunctional additive of tris(pentafluorophenyl)borane (TPFPB) for high-performance lithium metal batteries. The addition of TPFPB improves the ionic conductivity from 6.08 × 10-5 to 1...

Nanoparticle organic hybrid materials (NOHMs) have been proposed as excellent electrolytes for combined CO2 capture and electrochemical conversion due to their conductive nature and chemical tunability. However, CO2 capture behavior and transport properties of these electrolytes after CO2 capture have not yet been studied. Here, we use a variety of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) techniques to explore the carbon speciation and transport properties of branched polyethylenimine (PEI) and PEI-grafted silica nanoparticles (denoted as NOHM-I-PEI) after CO2 capture...

Only limited enhancement in room-temperature ionic-conductivity for poly(ethylene oxide), PEO, based electrolytes is possible due to coupling between ionic-conductivity and segmental relaxation. In the present study, we have achieved ionic-conductivity of 1.07 × 10-3 and 6.20 × 10-4 S cm-1 at 313 and 298 K, respectively, by adding 45 wt% of succinonitrile (SN) in PEO having low LiTFSI loading (Li : EO = 1 : 20). This enhancement in the ionic-conductivity is attributed to faster ion transport (diffusion coefficient, D = 3...

Dramatic growth of lithium dendrite, structural deterioration of LiCoO2 (LCO) cathode at high voltages, and unstable electrode/electrolyte interfaces pose significant obstacles to the practical application of high-energy-density LCO||Li batteries. In this work, a novel eutectogel electrolyte is developed by confining the nonflammable eutectic electrolyte in a polymer matrix. The eutectogel electrolyte can construct a robust solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) with inorganic-rich LiF and Li3 N, contributing to a uniform Li deposition...

Solid-state lithium-oxygen batteries offer great promise in meeting the practical demand for high-energy-density and safe energy storage. We have developed fibrous gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs) using a polyacrylonitrile (PAN) matrix via electrospinning. The 3D structure of GPEs enhances electrolyte absorption, while the interconnected design promotes strong interactions between Li+ and polar groups within the PAN matrix, thereby improving ion transport efficiency. In practical tests, both lithium symmetric cells and Li-O2 batteries demonstrated the ability to operate at high current densities over long cycles...

The boom of aqueous Zn-based energy storage devices, such as zinc-iodine (Zn-I2 ) batteries, is quite suitable for safe and sustainable energy storage technologies. However, in rechargeable aqueous Zn-I2 batteries, the shuttle phenomenon of polyiodide ions usually leads to irreversible capacity loss resulting from both the iodine cathode and the zinc anode, and thus impinges on the cycle lifespan of the battery. Herein, a nontoxic, biocompatible, and economical polymer of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) is exploited as an electrolyte additive...

Rechargeable batteries, typically represented by lithium-ion batteries, have taken a huge leap in energy density over the last two decades. However, they still face material/chemical challenges in ensuring safety and long service life at temperatures beyond the optimum range, primarily due to the chemical/electrochemical instabilities of conventional liquid electrolytes against aggressive electrode reactions and temperature variation. In this regard, a gel polymer electrolyte (GPE) with its liquid components immobilized and stabilized by a solid matrix, capable of retaining almost all the advantageous natures of the liquid electrolytes and circumventing the interfacial issues that exist in the all-solid-state electrolytes, is of great significance to realize rechargeable batteries with extended working temperature range...

Quasi-solid-state batteries (QSSBs) are gaining widespread attention as a promising solution to improve battery safety performance. However, the safety improvement and the underlying mechanisms of QSSBs remain elusive. Herein, a novel strategy combining high-safety ethylene carbonate-free liquid electrolyte and in situ polymerization technique is proposed to prepare practical QSSBs. The Ah-level QSSBs with LiNi0.83 Co0.11 Mn0.06 O2 cathode and graphite-silicon anode demonstrate significantly improved safety features without sacrificing electrochemical performance...

The present work focuses on the dynamics of the ionic constituents of 1-propyl-3-methyl-imidazolium-bis-(trifluormethylsulfonyl)-imide (PT), a paradigmatic ionic liquid, as an additive in poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP). Hence, the resulting product can be regarded as a polymer electrolyte as well as an amorphous dispersion. Leveraging dielectric spectroscopy and oscillatory shear rheology, complemented by differential scanning calorimetry, the spectral shapes and the relaxation maps of the supercooled PVP-PT mixtures are accessed in their full compositional range...

Nonconductive porous polymer substrates, such as PTFE, have been pivotal in the fabrication of stable and high-performing gas diffusion electrodes (GDEs) for the reduction of CO2 /CO in small scale electrolyzers; however, the scale-up of polymer-based GDEs without performance penalties to technologically more relevant electrode sizes has remained elusive. This work reports on a new current collector concept that enables the scale-up of PTFE-based GDEs from 5 to 100 cm2 and beyond. The present approach builds on a multifunctional current collector concept that enables multipoint front-contacting of thin catalyst coatings, which mitigates performance losses even for high resistivity cathodes...

A limiting factor for solid polymer electrolyte (SPE)-based Li-batteries is the functionality of the electrolyte decomposition layer that is spontaneously formed at the Li metal anode. A deeper understanding of this layer will facilitate its improvement. This study investigates three SPEs - polyethylene oxide:lithium tetrafluoroborate (PEO:LiBF4 ), polyethylene oxide:lithium bis(oxalate)borate (PEO:LiBOB), and polyethylene oxide:lithium difluoro(oxalato)borate (PEO:LiDFOB) - using a combination of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), galvanostatic cycling, in situ Li deposition photoelectron spectroscopy (PES), and ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations...

Heteropolyanions (HPAs) are known as the candidate for an anode redox mediator for redox flow polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs). The electrochemical properties of HPAs differ depending on the transition elements and heteroatoms in HPAs. For example, heteropolytungstate anions (W-HPAs), in which the transition element is tungsten, have a lower one-electron reduction potential than other HPAs. Therefore, it has been reported that redox flow PEFCs adapted with W-HPAs exhibit high power generation performance...

Polymer-in-salt solid-state electrolytes (PIS SSEs) are emerging for high room-temperature ionic conductivity and facile handling, but suffer from poor mechanical durability and large thickness. Here, Al2 O3 -coated PE (PE/AO) separators are proposed as robust and large-scale substrates to trim the thickness of PIS SSEs without compromising mechanical durability. Various characterizations unravel that introducing Al2 O3 coating on PE separators efficiently improves the wettability, thermal stability, and Li-dendrite resistance of PIS SSEs...

Solid-state lithium batteries are promising candidates for the next generation high security and high performance batteries. Here, the lignin derived ultra-thin all-solid composite polymer electrolytes (CPEs) with a thickness of only 13.2 μm, which possessed three dimensional nanofiber ionic bridge networks composed of single-ion lignin based lithium (L-Li) and poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) as the framework, and poly(ethylene oxide)/lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide (PEO/LiTFSI) as the filler, was obtained through electrospinning/spraying and hot-pressing process...

In X-ray computed tomography (CT) reconstructions of gas diffusion layers (GDLs), grayscale threshold selection is a critical issue. Although various selection methods exist, they all have their own drawbacks. This study investigates the influence of grayscale threshold on GDL properties and compares Otsu and porosity-adaptive thresholds. We utilized X-ray CT to reconstruct a Toray carbon paper sample (TGP-H-060) at a resolution of 2 μm. Using reconstructed 3D models generated under different grayscale thresholds, we performed structural analysis, computational fluid dynamics simulation, and compression simulation...

The systematic study of two ionic porous organic polymers (iPOPs) based on viologens and their first applications in the electrochromic field are reported. The viologen-based iPOPs were synthesized by electrochemical polymerization with cyano groups, providing a simple and controllable method for iPOPs which solves the film preparation problems common to viologens. After characterisation of these iPOPs a detailed study of their electrochromic properties was conducted. The iPOPs films based on viologens structure exhibit excellent electrochromic properties...

Lithium-ion batteries, essential for electronics and electric vehicles, predominantly use cathodes made from critical materials like cobalt. Sulfur-based cathodes, offering a high theoretical capacity of 1675 mAh g-1 and environmental advantages due to sulfur's abundance and lower toxicity, present a more sustainable alternative. However, state-of-the-art sulfur-based electrodes do not reach the theoretical capacities, mainly because conventional electrode production relies on mixing of components into weakly coordinated slurries...

Lithium-ion secondary batteries (LIB) with high energy density have attracted much attention for electric vehicle (EV) applications. However, LIBs have a safety problem because these batteries contain a flammable organic electrolyte. As such, all-solid secondary batteries that are not flammable have been extensively reported recently. In this study, we have focused on polymer electrolytes, which is flexible and is expected to address the safety problem. However, the conventional polymer electrolytes have low electrial conductivity at room temperature...

This Perspective aims to present the current status and future opportunities for polymer science in battery technologies. Polymers play a crucial role in improving the performance of the ubiquitous lithium ion battery. But they will be even more important for the development of sustainable and versatile post-lithium battery technologies, in particular solid-state batteries. In this article, we identify the trends in the design and development of polymers for battery applications including binders for electrodes, porous separators, solid electrolytes, or redox-active electrode materials...