“…Owing to the existence of soft long side chains, it displays well‐interfacial adhesion with electrode surface, which is beneficial to stable Na stripping/plating. [ 24 ] And, the polymer chain contains CC, CO, and CO without other labile functional groups. This ensures a wide potential window and good stability of the polymer chain in cycling.…”
Sodium metal batteries (SMBs) are promising candidates for low‐cost but high‐energy energy storage applications. Both long‐term stability and safety of SMBs can be largely enhanced when liquid electrolytes (LEs) are replaced by gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs). However, the low room‐temperature (RT) ionic conductivity and inferior interfacial compatibility of GPEs severely restrain their practical use. Herein, a poly(butyl acrylate)‐based GPE with a high RT ionic conductivity of 1.6 mS cm−1 is developed by in‐situ polymerization. Symmetrical cells assembled with this GPE show ultralong cyclability over 900 h at 0.2 mA cm−2, and ultralow overpotential of 233 mV at 1 mA cm−2. Full cells based on Na3V2(PO4)3(NVP) cathodes (NVP||GPE||Na) display significantly improved rate capability than that of LEs, benefiting from the solvation structure of Na+ in the GPE with much lower desolvation energy. Furthermore, the NVP||GPE||Na pouch cells exhibit a stable capacity of ≈92 mA h g−1 for 50 cycles at 1 C and excellent flexibility. The work not only provides a reliable GPE to develop RT SMBs but also offers new insight into the role of polymer frameworks in the rate performance of SMBs.
“…Owing to the existence of soft long side chains, it displays well‐interfacial adhesion with electrode surface, which is beneficial to stable Na stripping/plating. [ 24 ] And, the polymer chain contains CC, CO, and CO without other labile functional groups. This ensures a wide potential window and good stability of the polymer chain in cycling.…”
Sodium metal batteries (SMBs) are promising candidates for low‐cost but high‐energy energy storage applications. Both long‐term stability and safety of SMBs can be largely enhanced when liquid electrolytes (LEs) are replaced by gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs). However, the low room‐temperature (RT) ionic conductivity and inferior interfacial compatibility of GPEs severely restrain their practical use. Herein, a poly(butyl acrylate)‐based GPE with a high RT ionic conductivity of 1.6 mS cm−1 is developed by in‐situ polymerization. Symmetrical cells assembled with this GPE show ultralong cyclability over 900 h at 0.2 mA cm−2, and ultralow overpotential of 233 mV at 1 mA cm−2. Full cells based on Na3V2(PO4)3(NVP) cathodes (NVP||GPE||Na) display significantly improved rate capability than that of LEs, benefiting from the solvation structure of Na+ in the GPE with much lower desolvation energy. Furthermore, the NVP||GPE||Na pouch cells exhibit a stable capacity of ≈92 mA h g−1 for 50 cycles at 1 C and excellent flexibility. The work not only provides a reliable GPE to develop RT SMBs but also offers new insight into the role of polymer frameworks in the rate performance of SMBs.
“…In order to eliminate the adverse effects of external additives on battery performance, researchers also carried out a series of works using lithium salts as initiators of GPEs. 51,58 For example, He et al reported a novel hierarchical GPE based on the cationic polymerization of cyanoethyl polyvinyl alcohol (PVA-CN) initiated by PF 5 produced by the thermodecomposition of lithium hexafluorophosphate (LiPF 6 ) (6 in Table 1). 49 On the one hand, polyacrylonitrile (PAN)-based electrospun fiber membrane could enhance the mechanical strength and thermal stability of GPE.…”
Section: Thermochemical Polymerizationmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…In addition, the composition method is compatible with the current preparation process of LIBs, which is more conducive to the practical application of in situ GPEs. For instance, Duan et al 51 prepared a poly(butyl acrylate) (PBA)-based GEP supported by glass fiber membrane (GF-PBA) through in situ polymerization method (8 in Table 1). The in situ prepared PBA provides excellent interface adhesion property, and the glass fiber with abundant Si O bonds presents stable thermal/mechanical properties and continuous lithium-ion transport path.…”
The practical applications of Li-ion batteries (LIBs) are challenged by their safety concerns when using liquid electrolytes (LEs). Solid-state gel polymer electrolytes (GPEs) can address this challenge and have drawn increased attention recently. Normally, GPEs are prepared separately and then assembled into cells, which undoubtedly result in dissatisfactory solid/solid interfacial compatibility and low ionic conductivity. Fortunately, in situ GPEs are proposed to address the above challenges and simplify the preparation process. Typically, LE precursor is injected into the cells and gradually transformed into a quasisolid gel state under the conditions of thermal or chemical initiators. Consequently, the obtained in situ GPEs could fully infiltrate the electrode and better interface contact of gel electrolyte/electrode is thus inherited. In this review, the authors focus on the in situ GPEs used in lithium batteries (LBs), and summarize recent progress of the design, synthesis, and applications of in situ GPEs. Based on the different ways of triggering polymerization, there are mainly three methods: thermochemical gelation, polymerization by additional chemical initiators, and cross-linking initiated by Li O bond. Composite GPEs based on in situ solidification method are introduced as a promising strategy to improve the electrochemical performances. Finally, up-to-date research progresses are discussed, and perspectives are provided on the development and challenges of in situ GPEs to meet the requirements for their practical applications in LBs.
“…The smaller polarization both in the first and 100th cycles (Figure 12D), and the better rate performance of in‐situ cell also indicate the excellent interface property (Figure 12E). 127 In addition, functional PEs can be readily prepared using in‐situ polymerization strategy, just through introducing the relative component. For example, using in situ polymerization, Guo et al encapsulated a liquid phosphate into the robust PVCA matrix and constructed a quasi‐solid PE with both excellent flame‐retardant property and high ionic conductivity (4.4 × 10 −3 S cm −1 ).…”
Section: Interface Regulation Between Pes and Lithium Anodesmentioning
confidence: 99%
“…(E) Comparison of rate performance in in‐situ and ex‐situ system. Reproduced with permission 127 . Copyright 2020, Elsevier…”
Section: Interface Regulation Between Pes and Lithium Anodesmentioning
Polymer electrolyte (PE) has been emerging as a promising alternative to liquid electrolytes due to the unique advantages such as excellent flexibility and processability, high chemical and thermal stability, and low risk of leakage and combustion, especially for lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs). Even though abundant attempts focusing on polymer chemistries have been made, the inadequate capacity of lithium‐ion transport via segmental motion still cannot provide satisfying room temperature ionic conductivity and lithium‐ion transference number. In addition, safety concerns and short lifespan resulted from the brittle and incompatible interface between the electrode and polymer materials also hinder the commercialization of PEs‐based LIBs. Hence, for the above performance defects and interface issues, this review provides an overview of polymer electrolytes from the conductivity improvement, polymer selection and mechanical strength enhancement for protrusion suppressing. The improvement of conductivity specifically includes structure modification of poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) host and novel electrolyte matrix beyond PEO, while the section of interface regulation mainly involves dendrite‐inhibited polymers, mechanical strengthening, and in situ polymerization. Finally, perspectives and challenges are pointed out in the development of polymer electrolytes with both excellent electrochemical performance and safety for LIBs.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
