Nanostructured Lithium-Single-Ion Polymer Electrolytes

Polymer electrolyte Li-ion cells are highly attractive. They permit spill-proof, lightweight battery packaging that can readily adapt to irregular spaces. The power obtainable from state of the art polymer cells is limited by low electrolyte conductivityand concentration polarization. It is proposed to overcome these limitations by development of a single ion (Li+) conducting polymer electrolyte with room temperature conductivity >10-4 S/cm. The electrolyte is a composite polymer with silica nanophase andmultiple functionalities including the ion source, an anion complexing group and a favorable cation solvating environment. These polymer electrolytes, when fully developed, will form the basis for batteries that are capable of high rate discharge and beable to function effectively at below ambient temperatures. Successful development of the new polymer electrolyte will permit the fabrication of solid state Li-ion batteries for high rate applications over a wide temperature range including operation at low temperature. The batteries will be particularly suitableas potable power supplies for communication equipment, video cameras, sensors, night vision, computers etc.