Journal
NANO LETTERS
Volume 14, Issue 1, Pages 122-126Publisher
AMER CHEMICAL SOC
DOI: 10.1021/nl4034818
Keywords
Polymer electrolyte; ionic liquid; bicontinuous; polymerization-induced phase separation; lithium-ion battery; high-temperature fuel cell
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Funding
- National Science Foundation [DMR-1006370, DMR-1206459]
- NSF through the MRSEC program
- Dow Chemical Company
- E.I. DuPont de Nemours Co.
- Northwestern University
- U.S. DOE [DE-AC02-06CH11357]
- Division Of Materials Research [1006370, 1206459] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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The primary challenge in solid-state polymer electrolyte membranes (PEMs) is to enhance properties, such as modulus, toughness, and high temperature stability, without sacrificing ionic conductivity. We report a remarkably facile one-pot synthetic strategy based on polymerization-induced phase separation (PIPS) to generate nanostructured PEMs that exhibit an unprecedented combination of high modulus and ionic conductivity. Simple heating of a poly(ethylene oxide) macromolecular chain transfer agent dissolved in a mixture of ionic liquid, styrene and divinylbenzene, leads to a bicontinuous PEM comprising interpenetrating nanodomains of highly cross-linked polystyrene and poly(ethylene oxide)/ionic liquid. Ionic conductivities higher than the 1 mS/cm benchmark were achieved in samples with an elastic modulus approaching 1 GPa at room temperature. Crucially, these samples are robust solids above 100 degrees C, where the conductivity is significantly higher. This strategy holds tremendous potential to advance lithium-ion battery technology by enabling the use of lithium metal anodes or to serve as membranes in high-temperature fuel cells.
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