Organic Ionic Plastic Crystals  (OIPCs) are  crystalline phases found in many of the same organic salt families as ionic liquids but these materials have elevated melting points and exhibit various forms of disorder, which is the origin of their plastic mechanical properties. The plastic phase of these materials is reached via one or more solid-solid phase transitions, which represent the onset of ionic rotations that effect the change from a low temperature ordered phase to a more disordered higher temperature phase. OIPCs can allow significant ionic conductivity e.g. with Li+ or I- salts, which enables their use as electrolytes in electrochemical devices such as lithium batteries and dye-sensitised solar cells. Here we discuss the performance of OIPC electrolytes in these devices, plus the utilisation of analytical techniques such as variable temperature solid state NMR to investigate the thermal and transport behaviour of OIPCs, including the first phosphonium-based family.

Organic ionic plastic crystals: Thermal and structural analysis and their application in electrochemical devices

243rd National Meeting (2012)

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