A porous polymer electrolyte based on P(VDF-HFP) prepared by a simple phase separation process

A polymer electrolyte with interconnected pores based on poly(vinylidene difluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) [P(VDF-HFP)] copolymer was prepared by a simple phase separation process using water as both non-solvent and pore inducer. The prepared porous membrane was characterized by SEM, XRD and DSC. With a narrow pore size distribution and low crystallinity, the resulting polymer electrolyte shows a high ionic conductivity up to 1.76 x 10(-3) S cm-(1) at room temperature and exhibits low apparent activation energy of 10.35 kJ mol(-1) for the transportation of ions. Its low cost and environmentally friendliness provide great promise for the practical application in polymer lithium-ion batteries. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.