Poly(methyl methacrylate) reinforced poly(vinylidene fluoride) composites electrospun nanofibrous polymer electrolytes as potential separator for lithium ion batteries

Fabrication of nanofibrous polymer electrolyte membranes of poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVdF) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) in different proportion (PVdF:PMMA = 100:0, 80:20 and 50:50) by electrospinning is reported to investigate the influence of PMMA on lithium ion battery performance of PVdF membrane as separator. As-fabricated polymer electrospun nanofibrous membranes were characterized by SEM, FTIR, XRD, TGA and DSC for morphology, structure, crystallinity and thermal stability. PVdF-PMMA (50:50) polymer electrolyte membrane showed ionic conductivity 0.15 S/cm and electrolyte uptake 290% at room temperature. After 50 cycles, the discharge capacity 140 mAh/g of Li/PE/LiFePO4 cells with PVdF-PMMA (50:50) as polymer electrolyte (PE) membrane was found to be retained around 93.3%. The electrolyte uptake, ionic conductivity, and discharge capacity retention were improved by optimizing the proportion of PMMA in PVdF. Nanofibrous PVdF-PMMA (50:50) polymer electrolyte membrane was found to be a potential separator for lithium ion batteries.