Solid polymer electrolytes (SPEs) have application in multifunctional material systems that utilize a conductive medium for both energy storage and mechanical strength. The challenge is to develop polymer structures that exhibit high electrical conductivity, i.e 10-3 – 10-2 S/cm, and maintain the mechanical strength seen in epoxy resins used for composite manufacture. These properties are difficult to achieve in conjunction because conductive materials require amorphous structure while mechanically strong polymer systems rely on highly crystalline composition. Many of the SPEs in development rely on nonrenewable, expensive, and toxic chemical components to achieve high conductivity and strength. Recent developments in our laboratory have led to a mechanically strong (ultimate tensile strength: 625 kPa, compression strength: 194 MPa) and highly conductive (10-4 S/cm) SPE, using a poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) polymer host, and readily available, inexpensive lithium salts. This SPE formulation has been used to construct multifunctional electric double layer capacitors (MEDLCs), which exhibit characteristic capacitive behavior and composite strength. A comprehensive characterization of this SPE formulation will be presented which includes its chemical composition, conductivity, tensile strength, elasticity, compressibility, electrical performance in a MEDLC system, and cost comparison to previous SPE formulations.

Solid polymer electrolytes for multifunctional material systems

253rd National Meeting (2017)

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