Electrochemical Properties of PP13TFSI-LiTFSI-P（VdF-HFP） Ionic Liquid Gel Polymer Electrolytes

N-Methyl-N-propylpiperidiniumbis（trifluoromethanesulfonyl）imide （PP13TFSI）, bis（triflu- oromethanesulfonyl）imide lithium salt （LiTFSI）, and poly（vinylidene difluoride-co- hexafluoropropylene） （P（VdF-HFP）） were mixed and made into ionic liquid gel polymer electrolytes （ILGPEs） by solution casting. The morphology of ILGPEs was observed by scanning electron microscopy. It was found that the ILGPE had a loosened structure with liquid phase uniformly distributed. The ionic conductivity, lithium ion transference num- bet and electrochemical window were measured by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, chronoamperometric and linear sweep voltammetry. The ionic conductivity and lithium ion transference number of this ILGPE reached 0.79 mS/cm and 0.71 at room temperature, and the electrochemical window was 0 to 5.1 V vs. Li＋/Li. Battery tests indicated that the ILGPE is stable when being operated in Li/LiFePO4 batteries. The discharge capacity maintained at about 135, 117, and 100 mAh/g at 30, 75, and 150 mA/g rates, respectively. The capacity retentions were almost 100% after 100 cycles without little capacity fading.

Bifunctional polymer electrolyte with higher lithium-ion transference number for lithium-sulfur batteries

Lithium-sulfur(Li-S)batteries have attracted enormous interest due to their super-high theoretical energy density(2600 W·h/kg)in recent years.However,issues such as lithium dendrites and the shuttle effect severely hampered the large-scale application of Li-S batteries.Herein,a novel bifunctional gel polymer electrolyte,poly(N,Ndiallyl-N,N-dimethylammonium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonylimide))-P(VDF-HFP)(PDDA-TFSI-P(VDF-HFP),PTP),was prepared by anion exchange reaction to tackle the above problems.Benefited from the interaction between TFSI-and quaternary ammonium ion in PTP,a higher lithium-ion transference number was obtained,which could availably protect Li metal anodes.Meanwhile,due to the adsorption interactions between PDDA-TFSI and polysulfides(LiPSs),the shuttle effect of Li-S batteries could be alleviated effectively.Consequently,the Li symmetric batteries assembled with PTP cycled more than 1000 h and lithium metal anodes were protected effectively.Li-S batteries assembled with this polymer electrolyte show a discharge specific capacity of 813 mA·h/g after 200 cycles and 467 mA·h/g at 3 C,exhibiting excellent cycling stability and C-rates performance.

Transition metal catalysis in lithium‐ion batteries studied by operando magnetometry

Owing to the potential ability of metal nanoparticles to enhance the performance of energy storage devices,their catalytic performance has been studied by many researchers.However,a limited number of suitable characterization techniques does not allow fully elucidating their catalytic mechanism.Herein,high‐accuracy operando magnetometry is employed to investigate the catalytic properties of a cobalt oxide electrode for lithium‐ion batteries fabricated by magnetron sputtering.Using this technique,the magnetic responses generated by the Co‐catalyzed reversible formation and decomposition of a polymer/gel‐like film are successfully detected.A series of CoO/Co films are prepared by magnetron sputtering in different environments at various sputtering times to study the influence of Co content and film thickness on their catalytic properties.It is clearly demonstrated that increasing the Co content enhances the magnetic signal associated with the catalysis process.Furthermore,decreasing the electrode thickness increases the area affected by the catalytic reactions,which in turn enhances the corresponding magnetic responses.The obtained results experimentally confirm the catalytic activity of Co metal nanoparticles and provide a scientific guidance for designing advanced energy storage devices.This work also shows that operando magnetometry is a versatile technique for studying the catalytic effects of transition metals.

Biomimetic brain-like nanostructures for solid polymer electrolytes with fast ion transport

The intrinsic drawbacks of electrolytes and the growth of lithium dendrites limit the development of commercial lithium batteries.To address the aforementioned challenges,a novel biomimetic brain-like nanostructure(BBLN)solid polymer electrolyte was created by manipulating the shape of the incorporated nanoparticles.Our designed BBLN solid polymer electrolyte was created by incorporating spherical core-shell(UIO-66@67)fillers into polymer electrolyte,which is significantly different from traditional polymer-based composite electrolytes.UIO-66@67 spherical nanoparticles are highly favorable to eliminating polymer electrolyte stress and deformation during solidification,indicating a great potential for fabricating highly uniform BBLN solid polymer electrolytes with a substantial number of continuous convolutions.Furthermore,spherical nanoparticles can significantly reduce the crystalline structure of polymer electrolytes,improving polymer chain segmental movement and providing continuous pathways for rapid ion transfer.As a result,BBLN solid polymer electrolyte shows excellent ionic conductivity(9.2×10^(−4)S cm^(−1)),a high lithium transference number(0.74),and outstanding cycle stability against lithium electrodes over 6500 h at room temperature.The concept of biomimetic brain-like nanostructures in this work demonstrates a novel strategy to enhance ion transport in polymerbased electrolytes for solid-state batteries.

Cu_2O nanowires as anode materials for Li-ion rechargeable batteries

Li-ion batteries are a key technology for multiple clean energy applications.In this study,Cu2O nanowires were obtained by the reduction of cupric acetate with pyrrole.The resulting Cu2O nanowires exhibited excellent reversible capacities of 470mAh g-1 at rate of 1 C after 100 cycles.The results show that the Cu2O nanowires had more capacity than materials previously reported.No fading was observed over 100 cycles of charging and discharging.The compound metal Cu and incorporation of the conducting polymer polypyrrole(PPy)improved the conductivity of Cu2O and enhanced the stability of the electrode during cycling.The results from this study imply that Cu2O nanowires with high capacity and good cycle retention could be excellent candidates as anode materials for Li-ion rechargeable batteries.