Study of a novel porous gel polymer electrolyte based on TPU/PVdF by electrospinning technique

Investigation on a new electrospun gel polymer electrolyte consisting of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) and poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVdF) has been made. Its characteristics were investigated by scanning electron microscopy, FT-IR, Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC) analysis. This kind of gel polymer electrolyte had a high ionic conductivity about 3.2 × 10− 3 S cm− 1 at room temperature, and exhibited a high electrochemical stability up to 5.0 V versus Li+/Li, good mechanical strength and stability to allow safe operation in rechargeable lithium-ion polymer batteries. A Li/GPE/LiFePO4 cell delivered a high discharge capacity when it was evaluated at 0.1 °C—rate at 25 °C (167.8 mAh g− 1). And a very stable cycle performance also existed under this low current density.

► We are the first people to choose TPU/PVdF as matrixes.
► We prepared the films with electrospun technology.
► There is also no study on the TPU/PVdF blend membranes using electrospinning method so far.
► The electrochemical properties of GPEs are significantly improved.