A preliminary study on a new LiBOB/acetamide solid phase transition electrolyte

New solid electrolytes containing acetamide and lithium bioxalato borate (LiBOB) with different molar ratios have been investigated. Their melting points (T-m) are around 42 degrees C. The ionic conductivities and activation energies vary drastically below and above T-m. indicating a typical feature of phase transition electrolyte. The ionic conductivity of the LiBOB/acetamide electrolyte with a molar ratio of 1:8 is 5 x 10(-8) S cm(-1) at 25 degrees C but increases to 4 x 10(-3) S cm(-1) at 60 degrees C. It was found that anode materials, such as graphite and Li4Ti5O12, could not discharge and charge properly in this electrolyte at 60 degrees C due to the difficulty in forming a stable passivating layer on the anodes. However, a Li/LiFePO4 Cell with this electrolyte can be charged properly after heating to 60 degrees C, but cannot be charged at room temperature. Although the LiBOB/acetamide electrolytes are not suitable for Li-ion batteries due to poor electrode compatibility, the current results indicate that a solid electrolyte with a slightly higher phase transition temperature than room temperature may find potential application in stationary battery for energy storage where the electrolyte is at high conductive liquid state at elevated temperature and low conductive Solid state at low temperature. The interaction between acetamide and LiBOB in the electrolyte is also studied by Raman and FTIR spectroscopy. (c) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.