Currently, the global demand for renewable energy resources has identified rechargeable lithium batteries as the most reliable energy storage system having widespread use from large scale electric vehicles to portable electronic devices used in daily life. However, the conventional liquid electrolytes used in lithium batteries are based on a mixture of lithium salt in organic solvents that are highly toxic, flammable, and volatile with inherent safety issues. All-solid-state polymer electrolytes (SPEs) have gained significant importance in the development of rechargeable lithium batteries with superior safety. The all-solid-state SPEs, interestingly, have the advantages of high flexibility, dimensional stability, and easy processability. Traditionally, polymer electrolytes based on Poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) have been profusely used in the context of Lithium batteries. However, their application is restricted due to their low room-temperature ionic conductivity, as the semi-crystalline nature of PEO (Tm ~ 60 °C) hinders Li + ion transport. In this work, an ionene oligomer is synthesized from a diamine 1,4-Diazabicyclo [2.2.2] octane (DABCO) and a dihalide diethylene glycol bis(2-chloroethyl)ether with three oxyethylene units (-CH2CH2O-) in the backbone that can replace PEO as the matrix material. An all-solid-state polymer electrolyte was fabricated by a simple viable procedure involving uniaxial electrospinning of Poly(acrylonitrile) (PAN) blended with the ionene oligomer and doped with lithium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide salt (LiTFSI). The electrospun nanofibrous mat after post-heat treatment presented a curious morphology with the ionene oligomer diffusing out of the formed fibers and closing the pores of the nanofibrous mat. The PAN framework formed a network structure quite similar to the venation found on a leaf blade where the network of veins is responsible for providing support to the entire lamina besides supplying nutrients to the entire leaf structure. The PAN framework can aid in lithium-ion conduction besides providing mechanical support to the electrospun web. The prepared electrospun nanofibrous mats having such leaf blade inspired veined morphology with closed pores were applied as highly flexible SPEs in lithium batteries.

Electrospun poly(acrylonitrile) and ionene oligomer based nanofibrous mats as highly flexible solid-state polymer electrolyte for lithium batteries

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