While polymer electrolytes hold the promise of improving safety and mechanical durability of electrochemical devices, most suffer from relatively low ionic conductivities especially at ambient temperature. This combination of challenges becomes even more pronounced in the conduction of the multivalent metal ions likely to be necessary for next generation, high energy density energy storage devices where the ions are likely to have complex, multi-functional interactions with the polyelectrolyte matrix. Ionic liquids (IL’s) have been suggested for applications as diverse as solubilizing cellulose, antimicrobial treatments, and electrolytes in batteries due to their molten salt properties. Polymeric ionic liquids are not just solid counterparts to IL’s, but are excellent vectors for the inclusion of a variety functionalities ranging from multi-valent ion conductivity for batteries to magnetism into a polymer membrane. Polymeric ionic liquids capable of conducting multivalent ions are based on transient metal-ligand coordination interactions and the conductivity is related to both the segmental motion of the backbone and the lifetime of the metal-ligand bond. In this talk, I will discuss the roles of polymer backbone chemistry, metal-ligand coordination, and ion concentration on ion conductivity and mechanical properties.

Polymeric Ionic Liquids: A platform for metal ion conduction

ACS Spring Meeting 2021

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