The hydrated morphology of either
proton exchange membranes (PEMs)
or anion exchange membranes (AEMs) determines many aspects of species
transport. The present work seeks to understand the morphology and
microstructure of a triblock copolymer, polystyrene-b-poly(ethylene-co-butylene)-b-polystyrene
(SEBS), functionalized with alkyl-substituted quaternary ammonium
groups. Mesoscale dissipative particle dynamics (DPD) simulations
were utilized and parametrized by reproducing the experimental morphology
of the SEBS copolymer. It was found that the AEM (i.e., quaternary
ammonium-functionalized SEBS) phase separates into a functionalized
polystyrene-rich phase that is hydrophilic and a hydrophobic phase
consisting of the SEBS mid-blocks. The morphology was controlled by
the water content and was transformed from perforated and interconnected
lamellae to perfect lamellae and then to disordered bicontinuous domains
by increasing the hydration level (λ = H2O/functional
head group) from 4 to 20. The hydrophilic phase swelled upon the hydration
of the membrane consistent with AFM phase imaging of a similar SEBS-based
ionomer. Domains exclusively consisting of water were formed at high
levels of hydration (λ = 16 and 20) within the hydrophilic phase.
Changing the anion from OH– to Cl– resulted in larger water domains at the highest hydration levels.
The quest for new electrolyte and cathode materials is a crucial point for beyond-lithium-ion energy storage systems. Following this, an electrolyte for secondary magnesium batteries based on a new iodoaluminate ionic liquid and δ-MgI 2 is reported. Promising electrochemical performance in terms of Mg plating-stripping, coulombic efficiency, and conductivity, demonstrates the potential of this iodine-based system for future Mg secondary batteries
A critical roadblock toward practical Mg-based energy storage technologies is the lack of reversible electrolytes that are safe and electrochemically stable. Here, we report on high-performance electrolytes based on 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride (EMImCl) doped with AlCl3 and highly amorphous δ-MgCl2 . The phase diagram of the electrolytes reveals the presence of four thermal transitions that strongly depend on salt content. High-level density functional theory (DFT)-based electronic structure calculations substantiate the structural and vibrational assignment of the coordination complexes. A 3D chloride-concatenated dynamic network model accounts for the outstanding redox behaviour and the electric and magnetic properties, providing insight into the conduction mechanism of the electrolytes. Mg anode cells assembled using the electrolytes were cyclically discharged at a high rate (35 mA g(-1) ), exhibiting an initial capacity of 80 mA h g(-1) and a steady-state voltage of 2.3 V.
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