Nerve network-inspired solid polymer electrolytes (NN-SPE) for fast and-ion lithium conduction

The low lithium-ion conductivity is current the bottleneck in developing solid-state electrolytes (SSEs) that are expected to be a key component in the next generation of lithium batteries. Inspired by the high connectivity of the biological nerve network, we designed a mimic architecture inside a polymer electrolyte to provide fast lithium-ion pathways. Detailed experimental and simulation studies revealed that the mimic nerve network could efficiently form the bi-continuous structure at very low percolation threshold, and rendered an unprecedentedly non-linear increment by order of magnitudes in the lithium-ion conductivity, with a superior lithium ion conductivity up to 0.12 mS.cm- 1, transference number up to 0.974 and robust mechanical strength of 10.3 MPa. When applied in lithium metal batteries, good rate and cycling performance were achieved at both room and elevated temperatures.

Automated summary

This paper presents a method of providing fast lithium-ion pathways by designing a mimic architecture of a nerve network inside a polymer electrolyte. Experimental and simulation studies show that the mimic nerve network can efficiently form a bi-continuous structure at a very low percolation threshold, leading to a significant increase in lithium-ion conductivity and mechanical strength. Good rate and cycling performance are achieved when this method is applied in lithium metal batteries at both room and elevated temperatures.