Partial Solvation of Lithium Ions Enhances Conductivity in a Nanophase-Separated Polymer Electrolyte
We demonstrate that a multiblock lithium-ion-conducting polymer can be swollen with ethylene carbonate solvent to increase the conductivity relative to the dry polymer material by nearly 4 orders of magnitude. This increase is due to the partial solvation of lithium ions by ethylene carbonate, which leads to Li+ diffusion along the solvent–polymer interface. This differs from the vehicular transport mechanism for lithium ions in pure solvent. We use a combination of broadband dielectric spectroscopy, X-ray scattering, and all-atom molecular dynamics simulations to probe the effect of the solvent on the polymer morphology and to elucidate the mechanism of lithium ion transport.
Authors
- Karen I. Winey (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5856-3410)
- Stefan Mecking (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6618-6659)
- Daniel L. Vigil (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9860-0888)
- Amalie L. Frischknecht (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2112-2587)
- Anne Saumer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6103-4402)
- Mark J. Stevens (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2290-0224)
- Benjamin T. Ferko (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0006-3808-1610)
Institutions
- University of Konstanz (DE)
- Sandia National Laboratories (US)
- Center for Integrated Nanotechnologies (US)
- University of Pennsylvania (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Chemistry of Materials
- Published
- 2024-09-28
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.chemmater.4c02398
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Battery Materials and Technologies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.63
Funders
- Baden-Württemberg Stiftung
- Division of Materials Research