A gel polymer membrane for lithium-ion oxygen battery

• A polymer membrane is employed in a lithium-ion oxygen cell.
• The cell has enhanced interface stability.
• The polymer membrane leads to improved safety level of the battery.
• The improvement is due to the mitigation of the oxygen crossover.
• The lithium-ion oxygen battery has a high energy density.

Herein we investigate the use of a gel polymer membrane in a lithium-ion oxygen cell using a nanostructured LixSn–C alloy anode. The gel polymer membrane, studied in terms of ionic conductivity and electrochemical stability, actually enhances the performances of the LixSn–C/O2 full cell in respect to the bare liquid electrolyte, due to a mitigated oxygen crossover from the cathode to the anode side. Indeed, the protective effect of the gel polymer membrane avoids excessive increase of the interphase resistance, as demonstrated by the study of the time evolution of open circuit voltage and by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. The use of the gel polymer membrane as well as the replacement of lithium metal by a safe Li-alloying electrode are considered valid strategies suitable for the practical improvement of lithium-ion oxygen battery with increased safety content and enhanced electrochemical performances.