Robust Polymer Electrolyte Membranes with High Ambient-Temperature Lithium-Ion Conductivity via Polymerization-Induced Microphase Separation

Sujay A Chopade; Jesus G Au; Ziang Li; Peter W Schmidt; Marc A Hillmyer; Timothy P Lodge

doi:10.1021/acsami.7b02514

Robust Polymer Electrolyte Membranes with High Ambient-Temperature Lithium-Ion Conductivity via Polymerization-Induced Microphase Separation

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2017 May 3;9(17):14561-14565. doi: 10.1021/acsami.7b02514. Epub 2017 Apr 20.

Authors

Sujay A Chopade¹, Jesus G Au¹, Ziang Li¹, Peter W Schmidt¹, Marc A Hillmyer¹, Timothy P Lodge¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and ‡Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota , Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455-0431, United States.

PMID: 28426190
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.7b02514

Abstract

Mechanically robust polymer electrolyte membranes (PEMs) exhibiting high ionic conductivity at ambient temperature are a prerequisite for next-generation electrochemical devices. We utilized a polymerization-induced microphase separation (PIMS) strategy to prepare nanostructured materials comprising continuous conducting nanochannels intertwined with a mechanically and thermally robust cross-linked polymeric framework. Addition of succinonitrile (SN) rendered the poly(ethylene oxide)/lithium (Li) salt conducting domains completely amorphous, resulting in outstanding conductivities (∼0.35 mS/cm) at 30 °C. Concurrently, a densely cross-linked polystyrene framework provided mechanical robustness (modulus E' ≈ 0.3 GPa at 30 °C) to the hybrid material. This work highlights a facile, single-pot strategy involving a homogeneous liquid reaction precursor that yields a high-performance ion-conducting membrane attractive for lithium-battery applications.

Keywords: bicontinuous morphology; lithium-ion conduction; polymer electrolyte membranes; polymerization-induced microphase separation; succinonitrile.