Construction of Ion-Conducting Channels with Surface-Functionalized Carbon Nanotubes in Gel/Solid Polymer Electrolytes for Lithium-Ion Batteries

High Resolution Image Download MS PowerPoint Slide Ionic conductivity of a polymer electrolyte is a critical property for its application performance in lithium-ion batteries. This work reports a general and effective approach to increase the ionic conductivity of polymer electrolytes. Construction of ion-conducting pathways in polymer electrolytes is achieved with addition of multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) functionalized with ion conductors, which build up as continuous ion-transport channels in the polymer electrolytes. Small amounts of the functionalized MWCNTs of about 0.02–0.03 wt % are effective to increase the ionic conductivities of polymer electrolytes by more than four times. The high ionic conductivity of polymer electrolytes allows the corresponding cells to operate at high C rates. The results demonstrate a general and effective approach for increasing the ionic conductivities of existing polymer electrolytes and the performance of the corresponding cells.