Composite Gel Polymer Electrolyte Based on Poly(vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) with Modified Aluminum-Doped Lithium Lanthanum Titanate (A-LLTO) for High-Performance Lithium Rechargeable Batteries

Hang T T Le; Duc Tung Ngo; Ramchandra S Kalubarme; Guozhong Cao; Choong-Nyeon Park; Chan-Jin Park

doi:10.1021/acsami.6b05301

Composite Gel Polymer Electrolyte Based on Poly(vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) with Modified Aluminum-Doped Lithium Lanthanum Titanate (A-LLTO) for High-Performance Lithium Rechargeable Batteries

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces. 2016 Aug 17;8(32):20710-9. doi: 10.1021/acsami.6b05301. Epub 2016 Aug 8.

Authors

Hang T T Le¹, Duc Tung Ngo¹, Ramchandra S Kalubarme¹, Guozhong Cao², Choong-Nyeon Park¹, Chan-Jin Park¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Chonnam National University , 77 Yongbongro, Bukgu, Gwangju 500-757, South Korea.
² Department of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Washington , Seattle, Washington 98195-2120, United States.

PMID: 27463563
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.6b05301

Abstract

A composite gel polymer electrolyte (CGPE) based on poly(vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) polymer that includes Al-doped Li0.33La0.56TiO3 (A-LLTO) particles covered with a modified SiO2 (m-SiO2) layer was fabricated through a simple solution-casting method followed by activation in a liquid electrolyte. The obtained CGPE possessed high ionic conductivity, a large electrochemical stability window, and interfacial stability-all superior to that of the pure gel polymer electrolyte (GPE). In addition, under a highly polarized condition, the CGPE effectively suppressed the growth of Li dendrites due to the improved hardness of the GPE by the addition of inorganic A-LLTO/m-SiO2 particles. Accordingly, the Li-ion polymer and Li-O2 cells employing the CGPE exhibited remarkably improved cyclability compared to cells without CGPE. In particular, the CGPE as a protection layer for the Li metal electrode in a Li-O2 cell was effective in blocking the contamination of the Li electrode by oxygen gas or impurities diffused from the cathode side while suppressing the Li dendrites.

Keywords: Li dendrites; gel polymer electrolyte; ionic conductivity; solid electrolyte; stability.