Nafion-based solid polymer electrolytes for lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries

The use of solid polymer electrolytes is a novel and promising approach for enhancing the safety of lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries. A number of publications on manufacturing electrolytes with lithium-ion and sodium-ion conductivity based on Nafion-like polymers have appeared in recent decade. The present mini-review analyses various methods of the synthesis of such electrolytes and their properties, as well as the information on laboratory lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries using such electrolytes. The conclusion is made that the use of Nafion-based solid polymer electrolytes with Li+ and Na+ cation conductivity opens the way to creation of a new generation of lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries. The principal advantage of Nafion-based solid polymer electrolytes over traditional PEO-based electrolytes is a fairly high cation transport number, which provides a sharp decrease in concentration polarization and, consequently, the increase in the energy efficiency of batteries.