A Single-Ion Conducting Borate Network Polymer as a Viable Quasi-Solid Electrolyte for Lithium Metal Batteries

Dong-Myeong Shin; Jonathan E Bachman; Mercedes K Taylor; Jovan Kamcev; Jesse G Park; Michael E Ziebel; Ever Velasquez; Nanette N Jarenwattananon; Gurmukh K Sethi; Yi Cui; Jeffrey R Long

doi:10.1002/adma.201905771

A Single-Ion Conducting Borate Network Polymer as a Viable Quasi-Solid Electrolyte for Lithium Metal Batteries

Adv Mater. 2020 Mar;32(10):e1905771. doi: 10.1002/adma.201905771. Epub 2020 Jan 27.

Authors

Dong-Myeong Shin^{1

2}, Jonathan E Bachman³, Mercedes K Taylor^{1

4}, Jovan Kamcev¹, Jesse G Park¹, Michael E Ziebel¹, Ever Velasquez⁵, Nanette N Jarenwattananon¹, Gurmukh K Sethi⁶, Yi Cui³, Jeffrey R Long^{1

4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
² Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road, 999077, Hong Kong, China.
³ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
⁴ Materials Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
⁵ Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.
⁶ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, 94720, USA.

PMID: 31985110
DOI: 10.1002/adma.201905771

Abstract

Lithium-ion batteries have remained a state-of-the-art electrochemical energy storage technology for decades now, but their energy densities are limited by electrode materials and conventional liquid electrolytes can pose significant safety concerns. Lithium metal batteries featuring Li metal anodes, solid polymer electrolytes, and high-voltage cathodes represent promising candidates for next-generation devices exhibiting improved power and safety, but such solid polymer electrolytes generally do not exhibit the required excellent electrochemical properties and thermal stability in tandem. Here, an interpenetrating network polymer with weakly coordinating anion nodes that functions as a high-performing single-ion conducting electrolyte in the presence of minimal plasticizer, with a wide electrochemical stability window, a high room-temperature conductivity of 1.5 × 10^-4 S cm^-1 , and exceptional selectivity for Li-ion conduction (t_Li+ = 0.95) is reported. Importantly, this material is also flame retardant and highly stable in contact with lithium metal. Significantly, a lithium metal battery prototype containing this quasi-solid electrolyte is shown to outperform a conventional battery featuring a polymer electrolyte.

Keywords: borate network polymers; electrolytes; lithium metal batteries; single-ion conducting polymers.

Abstract

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