Single-Ion-Conducting Gel Polymer Electrolyte Based on Lithiated Nafion

The use of gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs) is recognizedas a promisingstrategy to improve the safety characteristics of current lithium-ionbatteries (LIBs) due to the incorporation of polymer matrix and immobilization of the liquid phase. To achieve high performance and efficient Li+ transport in GPEs, the selection of polymer is critically important. Herein, a single-ion-conducting GPE with a high lithium-ion transference number is proposed with lithiated Nafion (Li-Nafion) and polyacrylonitrile (PAN) polymers. We found that the interactions between electron-withdrawing C N groups Li+ facilitate fast Li+ transport and reduce the Li+ migration barrier of Li+ on the -SO3- groups. As a consequence, the designed GPE shows a high lithium-ion transference number of 0.93, an admirable ionic conductivity of 1.93 x 10(-4) S cm(-1), and a wide electrochemical stability window up to 5.0 V at 30 degrees C. Further validation of the Li|LiFePO4 cell shows a decent cycling performance with an initial discharge specific capacity of 126.1 mAhg(-1) and a high capacity retention of 90.1% after 200 charge/discharge cycles at 1C. This study provides a strategy of Li-Nafion and a decoupling polymer to enhance the GPE performance and its applications on LIBs.

Automated summary

In this study, a single-ion-conducting gel polymer electrolyte (GPE) was proposed using lithiated Nafion (Li-Nafion) and polyacrylonitrile (PAN) polymers. The interaction between C N groups and Li+ was found to facilitate fast Li+ transport and reduce the Li+ migration barrier. The designed GPE exhibited a high lithium-ion transference number of 0.93, an admirable ionic conductivity of 1.93 x 10(-4) S cm(-1), and a wide electrochemical stability window up to 5.0 V at 30 degrees C. Further validation demonstrated a decent cycling performance and high capacity retention in a Li|LiFePO4 cell.