Accumulation of Glassy Poly(ethylene oxide) Anchored in a Covalent Organic Framework as a Solid-State Li⁺ Electrolyte

Organic crystals provide safe passage for lithium ions

26 December 2019

All-solid-state lithium-ion batteries and other electronic components could be created using a new rigid ion-conducting material.

A team led by Vidyasirimedhi Institute of Science and Technology (VISTEC) researchers has shown that materials called covalent organic frameworks could provide the ideal framework for creating solid-state ion-conducting materials.

Lithium ions flow through liquid electrolytes in conventional batteries, but solid electrolytes offer potential advantages, from higher energy densities to enhanced safety. However, the ion-conducting polymers typically used as solid electrolytes have low mechanical stability, and their disordered structure limits analysis that could lead to performance improvements.

The VISTEC researchers and their collaborators used covalent organic frameworks as a rigid framework onto which short stretches of ion conductive polymer could self-assemble. The resulting materials showed good lithium-ion transport, and functioned as a robust electrolyte in an all-solid-state battery. The materials’ structure and properties could be interrogated using X-ray diffraction and solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance, potentially enabling further performance improvements.

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References

1. Journal of the American Chemical Society 141, 1227–1234 (2019). doi: 10.1021/jacs.8b07670